Right Moments
by Judah
Summary: Ranma must discover what he wants and who he loves in a neverending day that is a spiritual journey to maturity. What might he do with boundless time?
1. moments prologue

Disclaimer: These characters are not mine, I make no claim upon them. If you enjoy this story, purchasing the Ranma ½ Graphic Novels by Rumiko Takahashi is an action you must take. Revised December 2003, fic-complete revision June 2004. This is the only instance of this disclaimer; it applies to the entire work.  
  
Musubetsu Kakuto Ryuu ( trans: Unrestricted / Anything Goes Martial Arts)  
  
Prologue – "A Day of Peace"  
  
Evening arrived, and Saotome Ranma brooded inside the Tendo Dojo. The smooth wooden floor promised wisdom, and he shifted his weight. Staring at the ceiling gave no new insights.  
  
Yesterday, his wedding failed.  
  
He would be married, but the selfish motives of Akane's rivals stopped the ceremony. He did not realize her greatest rival was himself.  
  
Ranma flipped upright, no longer meditating on his head, and went inside the house. Akane, still angry, relaxed on the Tendo couch, watching T.V.  
  
Deliberately, he sat next to her.  
  
She said nothing, minutely straightening her spine.  
  
Tension mounted, as a panda and a man playing shogi strained to hear what passed. Sounds stopped from the kitchen; Nodoka and Kasumi were curious. Nabiki looked up from her romance manga across the room.  
  
He returned her silence.  
  
On television, a man asked a woman, "What if there were no tomorrow, what would you do?"  
  
Suddenly Akane turned off the make-believe images, and gave Ranma a look piercing his soul, making his knees weaken.  
  
Captured by her eyes, the stares of five people who would control his choices rolled off Ranma like ocean breakers against a bedrock cliff.  
  
"Well, what about it Ranma?" She whispered. "Would you create the best possible day for those you love? Would you give comfort, and make a difference? If you knew you had one day to live?"  
  
Akane was thinking about Jusendo, and what it meant to her. She blushed slightly from speaking the word 'love' out loud.  
  
Ranma hesitantly spoke, stuttering out "I'd... I'd watch and know beauty. I'd live... and do what I could."  
  
Akane didn't hear his unusually deep philosophy, or see the naked look on his face as he stared at her and spoke of beauty.  
  
Instead she heard her father bemoan, "My baby is dying!" So she called Soun an idiot, hit him gently with an end table because she didn't want him to cry harder, and went to bed.  
  
Ranma continued sitting, wondering what he would do, thinking of Jusendo and all it meant.  
  
Happosai noticed his predicament, hidden under Nabiki's chair and fondling her (just stolen) undergarments. Nabiki flipped a page indifferently, and Nodoka pointed out Ranma's romantic gesture. Kasumi blushed as the older woman explained where romance led with detailed specifics.  
  
When Ranma muttered, "Now is all I have, I should live like tomorrow might not come." Happosai heard his own philosophy.  
  
Soon the household went to bed. The ancient founder of Musubetsu Kakuto Ryuu decided upon a great, impulsive sacrifice. If this didn't make a worthy heir, Kurumi might do.  
  
He ground the magical shards of his Nanban mirror into dust, and careful infused them with a delicate, unpredictable technique. Knowing the enchantment of the mirror had almost faded beyond his ability to repair (the tape and superglue hadn't worked), Happosai considered it a small loss.  
  
Silently sneaking into Ranma's room, the old master noticed his student's deep troubled sleep, and knew most conventional attacks would be foiled even now.  
  
The ancient man spoke a Word, and powered the remains of the Nanban Mirror with magic and ki. He flung his double handful of powder, and was pleased as his student leapt, wide-awake, dodging.  
  
The powder though, formed itself into a cloud, and penetrated Ranma's skin and eyes, drawing ten thousand pricks of blood from nearly invisible wounds. Wounds sealed as quickly as they were made.  
  
In a stern voice, Happosai spoke, "Ranma m'boy live tomorrow until the present is perfect. Live the moment until you get it RIGHT!"  
  
The grand master escaped unnoticed. Absently rubbing sand out of his eyes, Ranma Saotome dismissed his experience as a surreal nightmare. Nothing in the Tendo household could possibly awaken his danger sense from his unconscious mind's defenses. Ranma settled himself and slept.  
  
A nearby panda continued snoring, after stealing Ranma's blanket.  
  
--- end prologue ---  
  
Setting, After Saffron, primarily manga for characterization/event reference.  
  
Premise – the Reality Repetition Scenario. This scenario appears in the movie Groundhog Day, episodes of Xena, Warrior Princess, Star Trek (various series), and science fiction (1970's) I barely remember reading. It is unknown who developed it, but is not my original idea. If it attracts you, use with impunity.  
  
Japlish annoys me. English is best when introducing/naming new techniques. If I use Japanese, it will have English translation nearby, or will have had one earlier in the story. EX: Musubetsu Kakuto Ryuu will always be used as the name of Ranma's Art.  
  
Nekohaten – the Cat Café, where Shampoo is employed  
  
Umi-sen-ken – Sea of One Thousand Fists, Genma's Forbidden Techniques (silent)  
  
Yama-sen-ken – Mountain of One Thousand Fists, Genma's Forbidden Techniques (noisy) 


	2. moments1

"Repetition"

She woke in the koi pond, and gently removed the fish flopping her hair into tangles.

Absent-mindedly defeating her father, Ranma bathed back into a man, and endured a chilly breakfast, where Akane didn't speak to him.

He did not break the silence, knowing he would anger her.

They walked together to school; while most students had free time during such a day, Ranma and Akane needed to catch-up, having missed much from Jusendo.

Only Hinako was present, and she blithely taught while Akane took notes and Ranma stared into space until he allowed her to drain him.

The day passed slowly, and upon exiting the school, Ranma couldn't remember what Hinako taught. Nothing of importance, muttered his analytical mind, still puzzling who he loved.

Silently fuming at his behavior, Akane muttered "Honestly!" and left him standing at the school gates, watching the wind rustle the leaves in the trees. A leaf drifted gently to the ground, an indirect causality of too much force in the wrong place.

Ukyo, Shampoo, and Kodachi were giving him space, having destroyed his wedding two days ago. He didn't know what he would do, should he meet them.

Spotting Sasuke in a nearby bush, he waved and walked off in no particular direction. Soon through no fault of her own, she changed. Lawn sprinklers.

After a nice free ice cream, she sat. Staring at beyond the sky, lost in thought, and in the moment. A cloud that looked like a flattened P-Chan drifted past. She smiled, and imagined contests with Akane to see who could flatten Ryouga the best, the quickest, and in the most artistic way. The pleasant daydreams calmed her nerves.

She went home, practiced meditation and advanced ki techniques, had a remarkably silent supper with Akane, and went to bed without any overtures. This night Ranma felt more at peace.

-----

She woke in the koi pond, and gently removed a fish from her head. This time she smiled.

Drawing out the defeat of her father, Ranma bathed back into a man, and endured another chilly breakfast, where Akane, again, said nothing. He had stared at her, and she had become red in the face before deliberately looking away; that had been their only exchange.

They walked together to school. It was empty. Ranma, certain this day meant a return of the general populace of Furinken, asked about the discrepancy.

Akane politely told him he was an idiot, and school resumed tomorrow. Ranma accepted this.

Hinako once again tutored, and Akane took diligent notes. Ranma paid attention for thirty minutes, until the lesson no longer made sense, then stared into space until he allowed Hinako to drain him.

The day passed slowly, and upon exiting the school, Ranma barely remembered the lessons. His mind still occupied itself with Akane Tendo and what marriage meant.

Annoyed at his spaced out behavior, Akane muttered "Honestly!" and left him in the yard of the school, watching a dog chasing it's own tail.

Ranma was grateful Ukyo, Shampoo, and Kodachi still remained unseen and unheard.

Spotting Sasuke in the same bush as yesterday, he waved and walked off in no particular direction. Soon through no fault of her own, she changed. Old woman tossing water out a window.

After sitting by the river in her special spot, she noticed the sun setting.

She went home, practiced speed technique adaptation, and ate another quiet supper with Akane. Ranma went to bed early without comment, but made certain to become a man. Soon he would speak to her.

-----

She woke in the koi pond, and brushed a fish from her head while bowing. It fell into the water and swam off.

Leaving her father with a bruise that would bother him the rest of the day, Ranma bathed back into a man, and sat down for breakfast with Akane. Kasumi gently placed a bowl of miso in front of him, and he glanced at Akane.

She seemed indifferent.

"Um.... Akane..."

He broke the silence, and noticed everyone but Akane was staring at him expectantly. She continued to eat.

"Before school I'd. . . . um. . . like to. . . . . um . . . . talk."

"Ok." The rest of breakfast passed more awkwardly and less tense than before.

They walked together to school; and Ranma found his words had deserted him.

When they arrived to an empty schoolyard, she asked him, in a hopeful heart-on-her-sleeve way, what he wanted to say.

Noticing no one else was there, he blurted out "Where is everyone else?"

She forcefully (employing her bookbag) called him a moron, while reminding him school restarted tomorrow. Ranma noticed she restrained herself from commenting about his other fiancées.

Hinako once again tutored, but Akane looked too mad to take good notes. Ranma paid attention for about an hour, losing himself in the lesson so as not to think about his relationships. Eventually he let himself be drained.

Upon exiting the school, Ranma had retained much of the modern political history Hinako-sensei covered. His mind shied away from Akane, and he resolved to try again tomorrow.

Still angry from earlier, Akane walked away, leaving him standing at the gates of the school, watching the door slowly swing closed behind him.

Shampoo, Kodachi, and Ukyo still remained absent from his life, and he wondered exactly what life alone with Akane would be like, and how his life would change without them.

Ignoring Sasuke, he walked to Dr. Tofu's old clinic. Soon through no fault of her own, she had changed. Kids playing with a water hydrant.

The doctor wasn't there any longer, and Ranma remembered him in a solemn moment of silence.

She snuck into the Tendo compound, and claimed the dojo for herself. She practiced advanced kata while under the Umi-sen-ken, and bathed before eating. He noticed an undercurrent of anger during his supper with Akane, but broke the silence by asking Kasumi what she made yesterday.

"Why yesterday I made sweet and sour chicken Ranma, is it your particular favorite?"

"Not really Kasumi, just wondering." Absently shoving beef into his mouth, Ranma could swear he had eaten beef bowl yesterday. With no further prompting, conversation at the table did not return.

After dinner, he hesitantly approached.

For about ten seconds he stuttered "Um Akane, er, I really want to know, er I mean. . . ."

"What my ungrateful son means," interjected Genma "is when do we try the wedding again?"

Their moment ruined, they punched Genma outside in tandem and spoke no more that night.

Ranma actually did his homework, and retired fairly late.

-----

She woke up soaking wet, and shook her head. A fish fell off into the waters.

Not even looking at him, she knocked her father out with one expert blow. Then she decided Genma was getting predictable.

When Kasumi placed Miso soup in front of him for breakfast, Ranma noticed the way the ingredients looked inside before rapidly consuming it.

"Akane!" He said in a serious heartfelt manner.

She looked up expectantly, and the tension rose at the table as everyone paused in their meals.

"Is today the day we return to a normal school schedule, or is that tomorrow?"

With a sigh, she told him he was an idiot, and pointed out tomorrow everything went back to normal. That a panda and his wife echoed the sigh went completely unnoticed.

Hinako was amazed. Not only did Ranma know what she intended to teach for the first hour, he'd already done the reading she planned on assigning! Akane gave him a dirty look at this discovery.

When Hinako quizzed Ranma on what was taught previously, he drew up embarrassingly blank, and chuckled rubbing the back of his head. Akane knew the material, and sullenly made sure, as Hinako bored her by rehashing it for Ranma's sake.

Later, when Hinako drained him for inattention, Akane fumed silently at how Ranma had wasted her opportunity at preparing for the inevitable exams. She ate her lunch apart from him, not realizing he expected that.

After school, angry about suffering through wasted opportunity, Akane quickly left.

Watching Akane stomp off, Ranma noticed Sasuke hiding. He reached up, and caught a leaf exactly as the wind freed it. Noticing a cloud shaped like a flattened P-chan in the sky, he finally decided the coincidences were too much. He clapped his hands violently, startling a brown dog chasing its own tail into running off.

He began walking, jumping over a stream of water from an opened fire hydrant.

Reaching the Tendo compound, he found Kasumi starting beef bowl for supper in the kitchen, and asked a question, startling her while she handled water.

"Why yesterday I made sweet and sour chicken Ranma, is it your particular favorite?"

"No reason, thanks Kasumi." Ranma smiled as water dripped from her face.

Before supper, Ranma trained in the Amaguriken non-stop until she knew without a doubt she was one punch faster. A twinge in her arm meant a muscle had stretched slightly beyond its normal range of motion.

After eating, Ranma tried talking to Akane, but found no words to match the inside of his heart.

-----

She woke up splashingly, putting the fish back into the water. One punch took out her father. The Miso soup's ingredients matched those of yesterday. Akane berated him for not knowing the day.

Stuck in a repetition of time, Saotome Ranma wondered exactly what to do.

--end "Repetition"


	3. moments2

"Advice"

The next identical days, Ranma Saotome sought advice.

"If ya had a day that always went the same way, 'cept for what ya did, what would you do?"

Ranma didn't know what to do, and he was unsatisfied letting the day take its normal course because tomorrow would be the same. He suspected he was responsible for getting himself out of this, but was used to letting the actions and initiative of others make him react. His own plans usually involved a potential cure for his curse, and always brought more trouble. For that reason alone, Ranma didn't want to be unprepared.

-----

Genma told his son he would eat every meal in all the restaurants of Japan, and sample all liquor known to man. Knocking his father on the head, Ranma left unsatisfied.

Nabiki was surprised when Ranma gave her 36,056 yen for 'the truly complete answer.' She correctly suspected it was every yen he owned. Make a fortune she told him. Figure out who wins at the horse races, the stock market, scores of sporting events.... know the order of cards in the casinos. She went into explicit detail in execution, suggesting how to ensnare others for bigger gains. This bored him terribly. Finally he asked, in an innocent way, what if the money wasn't there the next day? Shocked at such blasphemy, she found nothing more to say.

Soun considered for a long time. When he replied, Ranma beheld a nobler man than he lived with from day to day. With red fires of determination burning around him in a faint battle aura, Soun told Ranma he'd master techniques until he became a new man. After defeating and humiliating Happosai, he would reopen his dojo to a huge crowd of supplicants. The moment broke for Ranma when Soun sobbed in joy over such a happy dream.

Hinako (adult) said she would learn. She explained how wonderful an opportunity it would be for Ranma to master neglected school material. Attempting to provoke Ranma about his woeful education, she was surprised when he said "Thank you sensei," bowed, and left.

Kasumi realized being stuck in an eternal now meant the mundanities didn't matter. Whatever I did that day, she told him, it wouldn't be the same chores over and over again. I'd try new things, until I did everything I could do. Then I would break the eternal moment, and lead a more fulfilling life. Surprisingly, Kasumi served a delicate French meal (instead of beef bowl) that night.

Akane looked at him strangely, and told him she would figure out her feelings. When she said this, a strange hope flickered in her face.

A dangerous gleam caught in Sasuke's eyes. "You mean no one remembers yesterday, and everything starts over identical to before?" Ranma nodded at the ninja hiding in the bush, and the Kuno retainer swore him to secrecy upon his highest honor. With a blood thirsty smile Sasuke described the murder of the Kuno family. Looking at Ranma's vaguely horrified expression, the small ninja explained they would return untouched tomorrow, and such a memory would be cherished, should they continue to abuse his loyalty.

Akari Unryuu said Ryoga had yet to return over the phone. "Would I be the same physically?" she asked. Ranma, who found his extra punch in the Amaguriken to be lost after speaking to Soun, told her changes made to her body would vanish. In an earthy farm girl way, Akari said she'd practice with other men, so she could surprise Ryoga during their wedding night. Blushing, Ranma thanked Akari and hung up the receiver.

Nodoka took the question seriously. "My son, if I were you, I would try out your potential wives in bed, it would settle your mind and help sort your feelings. Additionally, I would spend one day in atonement for your curse, for seppuku would not matter, and in your soul you would know the your honor as a man was clean." Nodoka explained her personal answer would scandalize him, and Ranma, already blushing, passed.

"Sleep with a bunch of girls? What about you Hiroshi?" "Yep, you read my mind Dai, amazing!" Snorting, Ranma wondered why he even asked them.

Happosai smiled and twirled a white bra in celebration. "Great news m'boy, great news indeed! The terms of the spell I set have you repeating this day, until you get it absolutely Right." Dodging a punch, an axe kick, and redirecting a ki blast, the grand master cackled. "Right by your own terms sonny boy.... this day ends when you fall asleep knowing you are completely satisfied with your life!" Receding into the horizon by a well-placed feint within a feint, Happosai shouted "Challenge me for the title Ranma...."

Now knowing the cause of his trouble, the heir of the Saotome school knew the leech was right. He wouldn't be satisfied unless his fiancées were sorted out (and happy), and he was the grand master of his school. Plus his pride wouldn't allow him to exploit Happosai's obvious weaknesses for an easy win. A cheap victory was an empty one.

Prince Toma, laughing at Ranma's plight over the phone, and crying tears of joy at the description of the ruined wedding, finally gave a serious answer. 'I'd use fair means or foul to know the inner hearts of the people closest to me, so for the rest of their lives, I could make them happy.' Enthused with determination, Ranma thanked the prince and hung up the phone. Toma turned to his retainers on his island kingdom, and posed to them the question. After much debate, it was universally agreed 'sleeping with a bunch of girls' was the best answer. Poor sap, thought the Prince.

"Get my name changed Fem-boy, not exactly a great revelation. It's all I've been trying to do since I encountered your sorry gender-bending carcass!" Mentally shrugging, Ranma responded, "Stupid Pantyhose loving moron, for once I thought ya might look beyond yer nose, and not see clothing line designer labels." Then Taro poured water on himself, and Ranma had a very satisfying fight.

Disappointed, Ranma couldn't locate Dr. Tofu, Natsume, Ryoga, and Ryu Kumon. Other warriors he respected were unreachable in a mere day. Still upset with his other girls over the wedding, Ranma did the next best thing instead, and the answers surprised him.

"Such a question pigtailed girl, mused Tatewaki Kuno." Three hours later, after pondering the implications, Tatewaki spoke. "Since I already have money, good looks, and a noble heart I would use this opportunity to woo my twin loves. . . . and perhaps other noble maidens." Kuno added the last part reflectively; thunderstruck he might succeed given infinite time. "I would also take time to understand my twisted sister, and learn what drives the man referred to as my 'father' by legal right."

Konatsu gave the most insightful answer. "I'd speak to mistress Ukyo for days on end. If I said the wrong thing, and got her angry, she wouldn't remember it. However I'd take care not to make her believe I was obsessed."

Tied in his own chains after making a delivery, Mousse stopped struggling to answer. "I'd spend eternity winning my Shampoo's heart you fiend." Knowing what a wrong answer sounded like, Ranma left the man to his own devices.

Cologne cackled. "An interesting dilemma son-in-law, caused by Happosai no doubt. Should you ever despair of a perfect solution, make Shampoo your wife, and I will break the loop with a counter-technique." Not knowing if she bluffed, Ranma declined.

After much tears, Ukyo and Shampoo essentially said the same thing (completely ignoring his original question): "Get to know us better before you choose."

Kodachi's answer was ignored, a great pity in tomorrow's retrospect. With concentration so great sweat beaded her face, she told him "Ranma-sama I would understand who was responsible for manipulating my life, misleading me, and interfering with my happiness. Once I had achieved clarity, I would crush them utterly, with all fairness!" After he was driven away by her laugh, Ranma did not see the Black Rose collapse into a pained little ball, with her hands massaging her forehead.

Principal Kuno appeared extremely surprised when roused at 2am in the morning. Fending off the hedge clippers of education, Ranma managed to calm the man after a painful joint lock. As his head was slowly shaved (the price for an answer), the deranged Hawaii-loving man asked Ranma if he understood depression and perfection. Looking at his blank expression, the school administrator explained: "What would be the end of endless time, Wahini? Perfection, where worries are meaningless, or depression at failing to achieve perfection?" Immortalizing Ranma's snipped hair in a special jar, the loony educator wandered off inside his house. This answer deeply disturbed the heir to Musubetsu Kakuto Ryuu, who believed perfect Art lay in adaptability. Subconsciously, he wondered 'Is perfection static or dynamic?'

It had been ten repetitions of the same, and now Ranma felt ready enough to follow good advice. To his regret, he had decided against attempting to cure his curse; likely a cure wouldn't last between days.

-----

AN: This ends the introductory portion of the story.

--IMPORTANT--Review now, even if more chapters are posted. Before my vision of this story unfolds, I am very interested in what you think will happen given this opening premise.

See the little Review Button down there? First time readers PLEASE use it now. Reading further will skew your untouched imaginative capacity with my ideas. I want to know what ---YOU--- think. If this entire thing is posted, expect to be asked this once more. Thank you,

--Judah


	4. moments3

"Limitations of a Fighter"

-------

Removing the golden fish, and casually incapacitating an attacking panda, Ranma went inside and visited the laundry. After a dash of hot water, he located the necessary items. Twisting a metal hanger into a good imitation of a fishhook, he obtained dirty female underwear from the pile of whites. Actually touching them was avoided.

Tying up a sheet as an extension to the hangar, Ranma promptly jumped the whole contraption roofward. He cast out the lure, and shouted "Happosai, Happosai!" This procedure repeated every few minutes.

Eventually a ladder thumped nearby on the roof, and Kasumi joined him. She placed the bowl of miso soup that had been balanced on her head into his waiting hand.

"Whatever are you doing Ranma?"

"Pervert fishing."

Looking down, and noticing the little flying pigs on the garment, Kasumi commented, "I do believe those are Akane's." Suddenly Ranma had a sinking feeling in his stomach, but it didn't stop him from gulping down the Miso.

"Oh Grandfather Happosai..." Kasumi's whisper sounded almost seductive.

Noticing the hanger now dangled empty, Ranma yelled out "Hey old letch, I challenge you for mastership of the Musubetsu Kakuto Ryuu!"

"Sure thing student, I know the place! Meet me at the train station this afternoon." Happosai perched on the Tendo compound wall, examining his catch.

"Well, that's that. I'll take the bowl, and if you'd return the sheet to the laundry, I'd appreciate it." The eldest Tendo headed down the ladder with the empty bowl balanced on her head.

"OK Kasumi."

Jumping down, Ranma put back the sheet and hanger, restoring its previous shape. In the kitchen, he noticed a half-awake Akane finishing breakfast.

"It might not be for the best, but ya might wanna look outside 'Kane."

Blearily, the girl saw Happosai snuggling something on top of the stone wall outside. Squinting, she identified the object, and grabbed the nearest handy thing -- her half finished bowl of Miso.

"You pervert!" Akane sounded displeased. "Those are mine!" Her throw wobbled, but remained on target. Too bad Happosai dodged.

"Catch me if you can Akane-chan! The little pigs really suit you!" Laughing, the pervert bounded merrily away, wearing her unclean underwear like a hat.

Sighing, the girl slumped into her chair. He would be impossible to catch.

"Hey Akane, after I beat the old letch this afternoon, wanna go get some ice cream to celebrate?"

"S-sure Ramna!" Akane accepted the date with amazement.

Glancing back at the breakfast table, Ranma noticed his mother sharing sake with Soun and Genma.

"Oh happy day Genma! Not only will our children become closer, the dread master will finally know defeat!"

"To Grandchildren," proclaimed Nodoka, raising her cup.

"Kanpai!"

--

Hinako excused him two hours into class to prepare for his mastership. Akane gave him a look halfway between a glare and a smile; only the Masters of her Art could judge such a duel. Her father had been almost harsh – telling her she couldn't watch!

Kasumi's touch made her drop the coffee table before it impacted Soun's head. Her eldest sister explained, to Ranma's surprise, how Akane would be a liability. However, Kasumi used phrases like 'Happosai might use your presence to his advantage,' 'I'd be very disappointed if you missed school today,' and 'This is a matter of honor.'

Focusing, Ranma roof hopped to a goal of his journey -- Tanaka-san's Shack o' Sushi. Despite the lunch rush the wait wasn't long. Ordering up, Ranma savored his meal, and then found a quiet bench nearby at Nerima's Bullet Train station. His pre-fight planning was disrupted by cries of 'Hentai!,' 'Emasculation Time!,' and 'Let's get 'em ladies!' Turning, Ranma watched a pack of outraged businesswomen maul Genma and Soun. He respectfully looked away when a smart girl realized high heels doubled as blunt stilettos.

Doing a swift retake, Ranma grit his teeth. Happosai sat two benches down, enjoying the show. The old fellow used a lacy little black number to dry his eyes his student's devotion while appreciating the disheveled female angst. Thankfully a train arrived, and with last parting stabs, the office ladies departed.

--

The private duel took place in the barren countryside, thanks to the transportation system of Japan. Only masters of the school, Genma and Soun, were in attendance (though Soun was using Nabiki's video camera). Both had recovered from earlier. He possessed his father's blessing to use the Forbidden and sealed. "Freely unleash the destructive powers of Thousands of Fists, and worry not about The Master's well being. Oh that we should finally be rid of him!"

Unusually serious, Happosai named the duel terms to be concession or incapacitation. 'How hard could it be after defeating a godling?' thought Ranma, nodding acceptance.

They exchanged blows for ten minutes, demonstrating masterful kata and the adaptability of Musubetsu Kakuto Ryuu. By unspoken agreement, intensity increased.

Ranma used cold ki to diffuse the bombs, and Herb's techniques to control his place in the air after a miniature whirlwind Happosai called the 'Bean Jam Blowout.'

The Old Master projected himself to the size of giant, and Ranma fell into the Umi-sen-ken. The waiting game failed; the giant aura projection disappeared immediately after he did. His senses gave him a 'something is really not right' feeling, and Ranma faded visible, clearly uncomfortable. He identified the problem too late.

Happosai's perverted aura had diffused across their battlefield when he released the projection. Before Ranma could ready the Shooting Star Cloth technique, or improvise a version of the Hiryu Shoten Ha based on perversion vs. uprightness, a huge ki shaped dragon slammed him, breaking his arm and leaving severe ki-burns. By aura diffusion, Happosai reduced the build-up time for the attack to nigh instantaneous. A jagged crack in the ground attested to the technique's power level.

Ranma jumped, throwing the hottest ki he could call at the ground beneath Happosai's feet, and quickly ran around the old man trailing cold ki. Then he called his own dragon's defeat in a roar of outraged air.

Standing on a platform of condensing ki, Happosai waited in the middle of the tornado. When Ranma filled it with vacuum streamers, he calmly shot a ki blast with his feet, using the extra momentum to escape the winds. The vacuum pockets disrupted the internal pressure balance, and the storm became a gentle breeze.

While in mid-air, Happosai 'meowed' and threw a handful of coins, which Ranma wearily dodged. Distracted by this false attack, Happosai closed the distance between them. His defense in physical combat with a broken arm became sloppy, and the old man struck at weakness.

Gasping as his broken arm took a hit, Ranma found himself lying on Happosai's coins. They triggered a Happo-go-en-satsu, draining him.

He still struggled upright, but the grandmaster of his art gestured with his wooden pipe, and Ranma saw blackness.

-----

She woke in the koi pond, shook the fish off, and found herself sparring with her father, marveling her at her healthy body, free of injury.

Mentally going over the fight with Happosai, Ranma realized the old guy always used multiple moves with layered indirection. Grudgingly, the heir of Musubetsu Kakuto Ryuu admitted this level of combat challenged him. Happosai never paused in this mastery duel, uncharacteristically fighting relentlessly. Looking back, he defeated his hardest opponents with clever new moves after a brief pause in combat, not always with the instant shifting of style defining Musubetsu Kakuto Ryuu.

He tried again, and lost to a Bean-Jam-Blowout. The wind-based attack contained ki-guided acupuncture needles that immobilized him with shiatsu. Knocked into the next day again, Ranma missed his date.

More interested in Musubetsu Kakuto Ryuu, than in love Ranma expected Akane could wait. She didn't know of his struggles in the space between moments. His Art compelled him more than a useless cure for his curse; he thought even a successful cure would fail 'tomorrow.' The next level of adaptation -- becoming one with and creating the Art; his heart ached for it. Maybe he needed a new technique?

----

When Akane stamped off after school, Ranma snuck over to the Cat Café.

"Airen!" Shampoo burbled happily, and then pounced. Her tackle remained tentative, light, like Shampoo expected him to be angry. It didn't knock Ranma off his feet. Backing away slightly, and surreptitiously numbing her clingy arms with pressure points, Ranma watched his most amorous fiancée painfully kiss the floor when she couldn't lean against him. Knowing her competence in the Art, Ranma evaluated this plea for attention.

Squatting beside her, and hearing the mumbled 'ouchie,' Ranma whispered, "That was for ruining my wedding, but I'm willing to forgive and forget if ya could do one thing Shampoo."

With a swift rolling body press, Shampoo straddled Ranma's chest and said, "Right here in middle of restaurant? Shampoo no mind!"

Regaining his feet, because Shampoo couldn't use her arms, Ranma leaned down, whispering what he wanted.

With her nod, he unparalyzed her arms, and disappeared with the Way of the Silent Thief. He promised his father never to use the forbidden technique in fights; the old Panda actually encouraged him in perfecting the deadliest branch of the Saotome school. Later, Genma revised Ranma's promise to 'fights with other humans.' This mysterious attitude puzzled him, and when asked about the origins of the Thousands of Fists, Genma answered: "Sometimes it is best to let sleeping demons dream."

Three hours later, after the restaurant's dinner rush, Shampoo and Cologne emerged into twilight.

The ancient crone told the young woman "Great-grand daughter you don't have the control to attempt this technique, but if it will encourage your studies in our Art, I see no harm in a brief show. Remember, though, no pained complaints tomorrow."

Nodding, Shampoo assumed a defensive Wu Shu stance, and summoned a silver-gilded bo staff. Secretly, the younger Amazon hoped the added reach would make a difference.

"Very well; Defend!!" Cologne's shout echoed through the empty area, and before it died, the old woman became a circle of five.

It lasted four seconds. Ranma realized Shampoo had gotten faster; managing to disrupt three of Cologne's images with a dexterous staff combination impressed him. Akane and Ukyo couldn't do that! Of course, over-committing allowed the real Cologne a free shot. The silvery staff broke, and Shampoo plowed a long furrow in the sandy ground. . . . with her nose. 'That's gonna bruise,' thought Ranma, vanishing toward the Tendo compound and Kasumi's beef bowl.

After twelve days of watching, Ranma understood. Agreeing to forgive Shampoo over the wedding and 'date with her three times next week if she mentions this promise' arranged a demonstration of the Splitting Cat Hairs.

He would never realize Cologne had deliberately spoken in Japanese for the lessons. Didn't she always speak like that around him?

Splitting Cat Hairs required no new physical training, merely delicate control of one's own energies. Ranma thought of it like folding a piece of paper a new way; the blank, neutral surface was always available, but who knew what strange origami could arise?

When he used it on Happosai, the old man took a drag off his pipe, and blew smoke, easily distinguishing the real Ranma. Then the old letch beat him with itching powder, of all things.

-

The next day, Ranma realized the folly of Splitting Cat Hairs: Happosai's smokescreen allowed the old letch to ready the powder! Applying it with a Bean Jam Blowout followed naturally in sequence. Very effective, thought Ranma in annoyed admiration, applying calamine lotion. (Akane had cancelled the date, not wanting to be infected.)

---

"Ugh." Muttered Ranma intelligently as Akane embedded her head in the furo wall. Charging into the furo after the 'one-punch-instant-panda' finisher had not been a good variation in routine, but part of Ranma's mind thought she itched.

Walking out, Akane toweled off quickly and added, "If two days ago really happened, it would have been all right, you know."

Brushing mortar off her face, Ranma sighed. "I know." She whispered to a closed door, thinking perhaps today would be Happosai's downfall.

-------

Soon a month passed, and while Ranma better understood his own ki, he was no closer to defeating Happosai, and his fiancée situation remained unsolved (though he was partial to Akane). The perverted gnome broke Ranma's concentration (usually by meowing), and then used the opening to finish their duel.

If Ranma remained awake until 3am, his skin tingled, oddly like the curse. She then found herself refreshed, and in the koi pond in the company of her faithful fish.

No matter where he was: diving along the bottom of Tokyo Bay, having a conversation in a trendy nightclub, or miles above the ocean on a plane to America, whenever it became 3am in Nerima, Japan. . . . he became a she with a koi on her head in the Tendo yard. With no sleep the 'night' before, he was mentally tired but physically fine.

Finally, putting challenge in the Art aside, Ranma asked Akane out and followed through. During the past month, he learned the stress of his engagements hindered him at the highest levels of internal energy manipulation. Resolving the engagements might lift a barrier upon his inner self, and failing that, he knew matching Happosai required magnitudes of ki control greater than he possessed. While he couldn't increase absolute ki levels, or become physically stronger, Ranma could and would learn superior control.

So each repetition, on their way to school, the following conversation took place:

"Um Akane, about yesterday..."

"Yes," she said icily, thinking 'Tell me how you feel!'

"I'd like to talk tonight, but away from our parents. If that's Ok with you?" After the first few times his hopeful tone would change into a confident one.

"It's Ok." She always said, sometimes guarded, sometimes relieved, sometimes expectant.

"Then it's a date." He finished their conversation, for with this statement she blushed and proceeded to take poor notes at school.

-----

Before ki practice, Ranma sought out Nabiki at precisely two hours and thirty six minutes before his date. Right after she finished her financial bookkeeping, and before she started reading her perverted magazines and wanted privacy.

"Nabiki Tendo, I challenge you to game of questions, continuing until one of us concedes in defeat!"

"Saotome, I accept!" Nabiki sounded as delighted as a kitten who felt a butterfly land on its nose. Such a wonderful new diversion, and it even came to her! Then she named terms, and smiled upon his acceptance.

"Who do you really love?" Began Nabiki, pulling no punches.

"My mother. " Her opening gambit never varied. "Why did you destroy my wedding?"

"Because Akane isn't ready to be married." That answer baffled him, and he always studied Nabiki as she gave it. The middle Tendo held an almost caring expression on her face, and Ranma wondered at its significance.

"Why do you enjoy turning into a girl?" This simple question took two weeks to pass.

"It means I don't have to be a man anymore." If he denied he enjoyed it, she demonstrated how he did using examples from his life and won. Hearing her own perfect answer intrigued Nabiki.

"When you switched the engagement to yourself, what was your deepest motivation?"

Not hesitating, Nabiki replied "To teach Akane a lesson in love. . . . Now, who taught you this game, Ranma?" She always asked before the seventh question, impressed by his intelligence.

"Nabiki Tendo coached me." That one didn't even cost 5000 yen! "What do I need to know to understand Akane?"

"How she feels." Nabiki's answer never changed, though his phrasing of the question did. "What is it like to make love to a woman?"

"I don't know." His flushed response amused her. If he wasn't making her uncomfortable, she enjoyed his embarrassment. "In your professional opinion, as a student of human nature, which girl would make me the happiest if I married her?" This was his third attempt at a correct phrasing.

Stretching lazily, Nabiki drawled "Your ideal woman." Going for the win, she returned, "Same question, back at you, answer with a real person only."

Reeling from the masterful logic and innuendo, Ranma conceded (again). "You win. Provided tomorrow really is the day school resumes as normal, I'll do whatever you say this weekend."

Smirking, he continued, "If I give you 5000 yen, will you tell me the right answer?"

Always gracious in victory, Nabiki took his cash. Eventually, Ranma lost count of the times this happened, and he cringed if she explained the question had no answer. Using Nabiki's mind against her became an iterative process; she easily overmastered him in the vocal battleground.

This game continued on and off during endless days, and while Nabiki rarely solved his problems, he began enjoying their banter. However slowly, it taught the intricacies of thought.

-----

"Oh, Akane, you look beautiful," gushed Kasumi, who secretly thought she could do better.

"Way to go sister!" Approved Nabiki, who had paid for the salon.

Akane wore a startling blue strapless evening dress, and Ranma felt nervous in his rented Tux.

They took a taxi to a delicate home-style place called the 'First Taste of Spring.' The atmosphere was like a cozy hot spring, relaxed with care and love. White candles burned at each table, with the higher lights dimmed.

Their evening was perfect, the setting romantic. Both were nervous, and conversation proceeded at a stuttering pace. Tonight cost a fortune, but he'd never pay Nabiki back. Awkwardness dominated.

Inevitably, a waitress tripped, and sent cold, refreshing drink into the air. Akane looked relieved at this back luck. She fumed, "Baka, bad enough you're a girl, but it spilled over both of us! This date is over, and it's all your fault!"

-

Later, Ranma tried this evening again. With more experience he noticed Akane was too nervous to enjoy herself, no matter what happened at the First Taste of Spring.

-----

"Ok, Nabiki, next question: name a suitable place for the perfect date."

"How about food with a band of roving thespians." Noticing his reaction, her question cinched it. "What's the difference between a roving thespian and a raging lesbian, Saotome?"

"Um. . . . aren't they both players?"

"I win Saotome, was there ever any doubt?"

-----

Well what about dinner theater? Nabiki usually had good ideas. Akane radiated happiness when Ranma announced they were attending a production of "1001 Arabian Nights."

Wearing normal, casual clothing, they took the train downtown to a place called "Tours of Marvelous Worlds." The ride entailed much fidgeting, and a quick trip to the restroom to return male.

When Ranma and Akane arrived in twilight, a cheerful waitress led them to a corner alcove with a small yellow ceramic coffee table. No chairs, just the traditional Japanese sitting on one's heels on brightly colored harem pillows with lacy gold trim.

Akane looked relaxed, and she engaged him in meaningless conversation about the play, impressed with the décor and menu. His amiable grunts satisfied her.

Ranma relaxed and asked about their not-wedding. "So 'Kane, what do you think about what, er, almost happened two days ago; please, hold nothing back."

She obliged: "Moron, why did you let them ruin everything?!" Enraged at a rush of sensitive bad memories, Akane broke the ceramic table over his head. Applause greeted the impromptu show, and blushing, Akane bowed and exited, stage left.

-

Ranma found Akane enjoyed the play if he didn't press her. Tired by the evening's end, she ignored questions, and pleasantly fell asleep on his shoulder during their train home. He could stroke her cheek wistfully then, and she'd snuggle closer. Unable to unburden his heart during this best outcome, he moved on.

-----

Ranma had not forgotten Happosai, but wanted personal focus. After telling Akane how he felt, he hoped his own answer might be echoed. Seeking dating expertise, he returned to Nabiki.

"What's a good place for a date not involving tables?" Heavy surfaces ended the evening too often, usually by shattering over his head.

Incredulously, the middle Tendo rattled off a dozen good suggestions. Then she won by asking him to explain what a 'rimjob' was.

----

"A romantic dinner picnic in the park?"

Seeing his nod, Akane smiled, spacing out. "Don't worry, I'll make us a wonderful meal!"

Groaning, Ranma foresaw doom.

Two hours later he could hear Akane yelling her cooking mantra: "Don't burn! Auuggh! Don't burn!" She wasn't making curry, her one, non-toxic dish.

Predictably, she left a park's trashcan broken over his head, which wasn't painful. The potato salad he'd hidden inside had already dissolved the bottom and was burbling happily on a bare patch of soil. His tomboy had gotten into the drain cleaner again. Idly, as he twisted the metal rim apart with his fingers, he wondered if Nabiki would have accepted an alternate explanation.

Edging away from the salad, which was oozing into a nest of ants, Ramna pondered. Acceptable dates like swimming, dancing, sporting events, and the romantic boat ride violated the tomboy clumsiness factor. Akane's jealousy came forward when he outperformed her in physical tasks. He couldn't help being better, his love should accept him for what he was, not try to compete and be a sore loser.

Inevitably disaster struck on physical dates, and Ranma went on many, getting used to having a good time by himself when Akane huffed off. Here Ranma understood he could live a satisfying life without Akane, but he didn't yet want to.

Highly populated Japan's infestation of semi-formal restaurants became the next avenue to explore. Sitting still all evening gave a couple time to focus on each other.

----

"If I can't say the right thing, what should I do?" Tired of having his words twisted, Ranma now understood the tomboy couldn't admit her feelings to herself. In their latest casual dinner, the waitress lewdly told them she'd be open to a threesome. Akane had gone ballistic.

Nabiki, surprised a blushing Ranma had known, answered: "Don't say anything at all." Pausing, she added to Ranma's dread: "How often do you 'massage' yourself?"

----

A silent, expensive meal? "If you're taking me to dinner, you could say something!! Jerk." Akane left him with the bill, and merely went home.

Sighing, Ranma wondered if the spitfire known as 'Akane Tendo' was worth the trouble. He remembered saving her from princes and mythical creatures, but more importantly, he remembered her asking for friendship on they day they met, and stroking her cheek wistfully as she slept on a train ride home.

For now she was worth it. Too much history and words unsaid.

----

". . . .that often Saotome? Ok, your turn."

"What are good topics for small talk?" Nabiki rolled her eyes, stopping at thirty subjects or so. She idly wondered if Ranma could become redder. "So do you like it more as girl or a guy?" This tape was going to make her a fortune!

----

Ranma put forth tremendous effort not to rile Akane during their dinner dates. Hinako had helped with his Japanese so he no longer sounded like an uncultured rube.

They talked.

Conversations revolved around weather, the insanity the Kuno clan, Akane's brilliance in school (compared to him), and their adventures together. Akane liked to talk about herself. He let her lead during dinner, hoping to find the right moment, the right time, to discover what they meant to each other.

But that moment never came.

While Akane relaxed when she opened up, she still distrusted him.

He needed another activity after dinner, one to emotionally ready Akane for serious discussion, while not giving Jusenkyo much opportunity. His curse could not activate, it reminded Akane he was a pervert. She thought a romantic date with another girl, regardless of form, left much to be desired.

-----

Dancing failed; he couldn't help laughing at Akane's clumsiness, and after a relaxed dinner, his joking about a sensitive issue made her run off crying. Afterwards he felt like total shit.

"Try a movie." Advised Nabiki.

His turn again. "So how often do ya play the piano, pet the c-cat, tend the garden, hit the chit, turn the knob, exercise your fingers, put the mop in the bucket, wink wink nudge nudge Nabiki?" Payback time.

"Why Saotome, you know I avoid normal household chores, and we don't have any pets. If you're asking something else, you'll have to be explicit." Nabiki watched his face redden with delight.

-----

Finding a movie proved impossible. Soda splashes didn't help, regularly ruining his work. If Akane felt mellow enough to offer, Genma and Soun ruined the kiss-at-the-door.

Akane absolutely hated movies her sisters picked. Kasumi's thing for medical drama left her disgusted, and Nabiki's cerebral flicks put her to sleep. They both liked anime, which she thought childish.

Desperately, he tried other genres. The raunchy comedies had sexual overtones, and he couldn't even laugh without triggering the 'Ranma is a pervert' response. One try eliminated NC-17, leaving a slap imprint he swore lingered next morning. While they both liked action flicks, afterwards Akane wanted to spar, not talk relationships.

In despair, he asked his grandchild-crazed mother. She told him females wanted romance, and to pick a romantic movie. But he hated those!

"Simple?" Concluded Nodoka, amused her son hadn't considered the obvious.

"Simple." Ranma nodded, remembering a phrase from his best friend. Keep It Simply Sweetie, like Ucchan said. Why she tended to pucker her lips after that bit o' wisdom, he didn't know.

-----

He lost count of the days, but he found his perfect moment.

Ranma ate heartily, and spent dinner staring at Akane's face, never sneaking a glimpse of her cleavage. In conversation, Ranma stopped himself frequently; like he knew what he might say would cause catastrophe. She relaxed progressively as the date continued, talking about herself and finding the hesitant responses endearing. After "The Titanic," Ranma took her for a walk, and found a romantic shrine illuminated with dim lanterns.

First he made a heartfelt offering to the kami about their future happiness. Akane looked at him wonderingly, stunned. Ranma said exactly the right thing!

Then, in the muted cloudy night, he looked into her eyes, and spoke seriously: "Akane, what exactly are your feelings about what happened at Jusendo?"

Akane smiled vulnerably, recognizing this pivotal moment of their evening, and perhaps, their relationship.

"Ranma, you mean a lot to me, but I don't think I'm ready for marriage yet. If our wedding had happened I wouldn't have minded, but please don't choose another girl. If you propose to me, after we both graduate, I'll. . . . I will say yes."

Right after her answer, the clouds burst and two girls hurried home in the rain.

-----

Knowing his girl's heart now, Ranma wanted a little fun. He asked Kasumi to help out, a mistake he made before.

-

Marveling at Akane's beauty, Ranma knew this date would never happen. Kasumi gave her sister the works: elaborate French coif hairstyle, 'vamp me now' slinky red dress, and tasteful earrings with matching high heels. Akane was so nervous she couldn't walk right.

Normally, he gave the homemaking Tendo a small box of bon-bons and the latest issues of 'Home and Garden' and 'Cosmopolitan.' Then she retreated to her room and locked the door, only emerging to quickly hash together dinner. Stopping Kasumi was imperative; if the eldest Tendo touched his tomboy, she couldn't handle the elegance.

Knowing disaster was inevitable felt liberating. After jousting with Nabiki until she started physically squirming, Ranma laughed.

When they were five feet out the door, he turned to his date and asked, "Did you have a good time that trip?"

As she turned in puzzlement, her heel caught a pebble, and with a mighty windmilling of arms, Akane caught herself with her hands. "What, Ranma?" Having devoted her concentration to walking with one inch heels, his radiant girl missed his stupid comment.

"I'll ask ya next fall." She was due in another thirty yards.

Thinking he'd been romantic, she blushed, and accepted his offered supporting arm.

Right on schedule came the neighbor's dog Bess barreling at them and yowling. Akane's perfume drove the poor canine wild, and this time they fell together. Ranma maneuvered so he was basically trapped under Akane; it felt sort of nice.

With a camel-like back-kick, Bess was dislodged from Akane's personal space until splashdown in the Tendo koi pond.

"So did you have a good time this trip?"

Putting out a flickering, out of control battle aura, Akane yelled "Ranma no Hentai!" and proceeded to miss with a point blank haymaker. Before giving chase, she wiped off her leg.

Pretty soon Bess, Soun (yelling about his daughter's happiness), Happosai, Mousse (his head made a good spring-board), both Kunos, Tsubasa, and a small Tanuki joined the chase.

Mentally counting down while on the run, with zero came a screeching of wheels and the demise of an innocent lamppost. Grinning madly, Ranma looked back at Akane's faceplant in the middle of the street and yelled while running backwards "You clumsy Tomboy, you can't avoid the car accident no matter what happens, can you?"

Like the very beginning, he never saw the Panda with the street sign.

More durable now, Ranma retained consciousness. With a retaliatory ki-wave, he flung Genma into the sunset, and laughed, leading his strange menagerie on a wild chase into the starry evening twilight.

-----

Six hours of work meant he could ask Akane one serious question, and get an honest answer. He thought of his completed date with Akane like an elaborate kata. He named the technique 'Perfect Scarlet Dewdrop.' You could only watch a dewdrop catch the light if you let it fall on its own, no matter how perfect your preparation.

"Why do you can't you control your temper and not hit me?" The question bothered him most. When Ranma became serious about knowing Akane's feelings, nothing incensed him more than taking a table to the face while being polite!

Akane considered him a better martial artist, (and an idiot) and she thought whenever he did something warranting a beatin', he meant she was inferior. As an idiot he continued on clueless, but because he was a better martial artist she thought he must allow the hits, and therefore deserved punishment.

Akane accepted his curse enough to be curious about two girls together, but suffered intense childhood teasing. This meant she'd never feel comfortable publicly dating a woman and was insecure romantically. Trusting people was harder since her mother died (a deeply disturbing experience), and she lived in a world where Ranma (her Romeo) always rescued her. And if he didn't, she felt sure that she'd fight her own way out.

Deep, deep down Akane thought she was in love with him.

-----

To his surprise, Nabiki no longer intimidated him. While their conversations could last hours now, her secretiveness during late afternoon bothered him. Nabiki expected privacy during her 'breathlessly quality time,' aroused his curiosity. According to his friendly tormenter it involved the manga that made him turn 'such an interesting shade of red.'

Today this mystery would be solved.

Nabiki's door was locked, and a J-pop band played softly in the background.

Undeterred, Ranma gained the roof, and expertly balanced on the edge, looking upside down at Nabiki's window. Her drapes were shut, and the window locked.

About to knock on the glass, Ranma noticed the curtains had imperfectly closed. A small gap, but there if you pressed your face against the window, and squinted hard for a peek.

Nabiki Tendo lay half naked on her bed next to her underwear, with her manga conveniently perched on her chest. She was wearing only a thick white bra, and had both hands between her legs. They moved in time to the music, and an expressed of bliss adorned her face.

Shocked, Ranma actually lost his balance and fell off the roof, guiltily trying to forget.

He really tried, knowing Akane would call him a pervert for sure! To his amazement, the picture disappeared from his mind. As this was Ranma's goal, he never suspected why this feat came so easily.

Not remembering why, Ranma decided to believe Nabiki's 'you don't want to know details' when referring to her private time.

-----

Constricted by looming obligations, Ranma had another talk with his mother. While his inner energies had become much more harmonized in settling his heart about Akane, he felt lost about what to do about his other potential wives.

"My son," beamed Nodoka, "you are very manly to understand 'your tomboy' so well! However before choosing, learn about the others who would be your wife. It isn't fair if you forgive Akane her faults, merely because she is now closest to your heart. Could you love Ukyo, or Shampoo? What most makes a marriage work, something your father taught me by omission, is when a couple can grow together in their everyday lives. How does Akane see your future with her? Remember you can take mistresses."

He asked Akane this, and found she saw herself as a renowned actress, a brilliant career woman, or a world class Olympic athlete. Never did she picture herself as a housewife, and she insisted their dojo would be the Tendo-Saotome dojo, whatever her vocation.

----

The next morning, as Ranma affectionately removed the fish from her head, she stood tall. With maximum volume she yelled, "Enough of this emotional crap. . . . today I kick Happosai's ass!!!!"

He knew Akane's heart, and Hinako-sensei had recently pronounced him truly fit to be in his grade-level at school. Ranma thought it fitting to defeat the letch while he still had his curse, sort of a revenge for his female side. Afterwards though, Jusenkyo had to go.

"Stupid boy, don't let your growf, grof growf!!!" Genma cheered Ranma on.

"Hotcha!" Came the mutter from between her breasts.

They met on the challenge field, a terraced field that had lain fallow since the Japanese economy collapsed.

Ranma was ready. . . . for the past year he devoted the mornings to learning with mind, and the afternoons to precision ki control. Then it was Perfect Scarlet Dewdrop (and open-eye meditation), or talk with Nabiki, and sleep.

Every two weeks, he added another energy manipulation to his style. Much time and mental retraining had been necessary to release ki from anywhere on his body. Such ability held great appeal, for it added another counter-strike for every submission hold.

Advanced kata dances began the duel; neither expected a hit, but they were a good warm-up. Five minutes in, whenever Ranma threw a punch, a small ball of ki shot at Happosai from his foot, his knee, his nose. Whenever he kicked, it came from his elbow, his stomach, his wrist.

The first few gave the old man pause, but then he continued the kata dance with a comment. "The Light of Scampering Stars, I didn't realize you'd studied under the mystics of Arizona m'boy. However, even the Pueblo Shamans feared this one: I Am The Void, and The Void is Me!"

Ranma now noticed Happosai had changed his aura, so only certain types of ki could enter and exit, from the physics books Hinako-sensei suggested, it seemed Happosai selectively polarized his aura. In test, Ramna varied the intensity and emotion driving each blast, and he found some easier for the old man to deflect.

As Ranma was about to try hitting the little troll's shield with two blasts in one spot, Happi jumped back while flaring his aura. Suddenly Ranma beheld a huge ten foot ki-ovoid shooting towards him. He understood the bursts appearing to hit Happosai had been harvested for power.

He caught the multi-colored ovoid, briefly held it, and used the conflicting emotions inside the blast to fire a horizontal Hi Ryu Shoten Ha at the old freak, who jumped out of the way and pulled out his bombs.

Ramna released a sinuous rope of cold ki that followed Happosai in the air and encircled him, preventing his fuses from being lit. Then he rushed to where the old guy landed, and performed the Splitting Cat Hairs.

When Happosai reached for his pipe, it was frozen solid. Frowning, Happi flared his aura into gigantic proportions, forcing Ranma to drop his phantom images where their kis clashed.

The Umisenken forced Happosai to drop his huge battle aura. This time when Happosai's cloud of perverted ki formed to reveal his hiding place, Ranma dropped his father's technique, and retaliated with a dozen translucent ki-boomerangs. They disrupted the gigantic ki-dragon before it could form.

Unsurprisingly, the old master dodged the boomerangs, both on their way toward him, and when they turned around and headed back for Ranma glowing brightly. And Ranma Saotome grimaced when the boomerangs returned, and he reabsorbed the energies they had collected. Happosai's energies.

Desperate to rid himself of the sexually charged ki before it could infect his judgment, Ranma released it in a huge purple flare. Happosai gleefully leapt into the ki-mass. The old pervert's speed quadrupled, and Ranma honestly couldn't tell what happened as blackness fell.

----

As she mentally reviewed the fight, Ranma realized she had essentially refined and purified the power Happosai foiled the Umi-sen-ken with. It had supercharged the old perv, who struck multiple vital spots in a fraction of a second, far faster than Amaguriken levels. Such a burst of speed, she knew, could never be accomplished merely using the ki inside your own body.

When the fish jumped off her head, Ranma realized she was sitting in the middle of the koi, and reflexively knocked out Genma.

She challenged Happosai again, and found avoiding her own boomerangs set Happi up for the itching powder.

Depressed at defeat, she applied the last of Kasumi's Benodryll and wandered past the living area. Nabiki and Akane watched the fight on TV, but saw only blurs. One larger blur seemed to toss a multi-colored stream of glowing tendrils at the smaller blur. That the camera was slightly out of focus didn't help.

The middle Tendo scowled at him, but said nothing. Nabiki expected the VCR tape to be this way, which was why she hadn't insisted on going. From previous experience, she knew Ranma moved faster than the camera's frame-capture rate, faster than even her trained eyes could follow.

"What that large thing on the bottom?" Inquired Ranma, thinking 'future terrain advantage.' He didn't remember anything like it at the challenge field.

"Daddy's thumb." Nabiki sounded exasperated, even forgoing her usually '500 yen for stupid questions' policy.

Akane ignored him, mad about the fight and their lack of date. She knew where the itching powder had come from: Kodachi shared after Happosai raided the girls' underwear too many times. What the gymnast had failed to mention was that washing the clothes didn't get rid of it! Ukyo and her had walked funny for a week, not to mention the powder didn't bother the ancient perv! That stuff was nasty. While internally she felt sorry for Ranma, outwardly, Akane gave him a laser-like stare of accusation.

Feeling uncomfortable, Ranma went into the kitchen, surprising Kasumi just as she was coming out with a tray of iced lemonade. With a snort of disgust, Ranma-chan left the house with an unnoticed lemon slice sticking in her hair.

A nearby panda playing shogi liberated it as Ranma stomped off, and added it to flavor his drink. While the panda's attention wandered, Soun slid pieces onto his side of the game-board, not realizing Genma had slipped him ones of the wrong color.

The Giant Panda growphed in satisfaction while sipping lemon-flavored water, and held up a sign stating, "I win Tendo!" Then the Panda noticed how much its tongue itched, and whimpered.

Ranma spent the remainder of the day wandering, meditating upon her life and failures. The conclusion reached, was exploring Sasuke's advice. One limit of her strange situation remained untested.

------

Next: Faces of Life and Death

--

Author's question: do the humorous/serious-alternating scenes add or detract from the story's mood and impact? (Why?)


	5. moments4

"Faces of Life and Death"

-------

The day to destroy began wet and stressful. She was disgusted and upset with herself for spending so much time and reaping only disappointment. Part of her mind whispered softly 'this is a huge mistake,' but dripping and frustrated, Ranma thought back, 'Just this once, if it doesn't really happen, isn't it an unreal dream? A dream of vengeance and release is so attractive.'

Right about now, the old man jumped out their window, in a collision course for a typical morning spar. Without further analysis, Ranma followed her feelings.

"Kijin Ryu Dan!" The vacuum blade streaked toward the attacking Genma, and the useless glutton didn't dodge, perhaps out of disbelief.

Bleeding from the remains of his left arm, her wounded father cauterized it with ki, and fled. Having been at Mount Phoenix, the old panda knew folly as it crippled him.

Ranma duplicated Happosai's Umi-sen-ken-detector, but Genma cleanly escaped. Regretfully, she sighed. If anyone truly deserved death, the panda-man was a prime choice. Today was gonna be busy though.

A dash up to Kasumi's room, and the declaration of "Hey old letch, I'm wearing a bra just for you!" ended with the gnome going at her chest.

Ironically, killing Happosai by building and releasing a Hi Ryu Shoten Ha using both her breasts was remarkably easy. With the ki folding she had discovered as an offshoot of the forbidden techniques, the old leech went out like he'd want – splattered over a woman's body.

"AAHHHH! Why was that so damn EASY!" Howling the accusation skyward, Ranma reigned in massive frustration. 'He dismisses my life's work, my art with no trouble, but one stupid trick kills him?!! To think, Happosai actually had my respect!' A melancholy sigh came from Ranma's chest as she wiped off the bloody, dripping gore. Unable to win their honor duel, she now felt more unworthy.

When Ranma walked inside to the furo, no one barred her way.

After bathing, he went to Kuno's estate, and while Tatewaki was elsewhere, Kodachi proclaimed love with a spiked whip. Dodging, he used shiatsu to gift the pest with muteness and immobility, before snapping her neck with two fingers. Viewing her broken body and shocked facial expression, he felt incredibly guilty and disgusted with himself. The duty of a martial artist called for protecting the weak, not slaying those into S & M.

Heading home, Ramna accepted this day was a mistake, but he'd finish what he started.

When Soun discovered Ranma's return, he manifested the father of demon heads. The one armed Genma had gotten Soun angry and ran from the results; his normal behavior, really. The White Snake Reliable Fist, a move meant to exorcise possession, smacked the huge ki-projection in the middle of its grotesquely horned forehead. Curious at the result, he watched Tendo patriarch suffer an embolism from conflicting energies.

He made a mental note: 'Never do that for real.'

Kasumi and Nodoka fainted, and he backhanded Akane, causing her to drop the coffee table. She started crying on the floor. Tired of pampering Akane, and especially furious at how he was expected to obey her whims; Ranma's voice filled with venom. He raged at her:

"It's no less than you deserve for idolizing your mother's ghost and not facing reality. You can't move right, can't cook, and can't even be honest with yourself, much less me! Life doesn't stand still and wait for an attack Akane; it moves in and overwhelms!"

With a primal scream through her tears, the youngest Tendo rose and punted him into the sky towards the restaurant district.

The Cat Cafe was next. He felt like a bastard, and decided truth could be a suicide attack as well as liberation. Akane should never forgive him for those words. Not like it mattered.

Landing on his feet, he taunted duck-boy until the enraged weapons master came out to die.

One vacuum blade sliced both younger amazons in half, and Ranma grimaced; he hadn't wanted to kill another girl. Shampoo failed in saving Mousse.

The Old Ghoul shouted a weird Mandarin phrase, and rushed him. Blocking frantically, Ranma felt internal pains associated with Akane's cooking. Five heartbeats after she started, Cologne jumped away. Using senses honed from a year of high-level ki manipulation, he concluded the old ghoul hit the breaking points inside his body.

The process would be delayed and incredibly painful, and Ranma grimaced in agony as his bones vibrated. Using superior control, he embraced his aura, realigning his internal ki flows, negating the technique.

"You continue to surprise me Ranma, but can you survive this?" Speaking with curious sadness, Cologne circled her prey, and Ranma had trouble following her speed. When he jumped in the air to avoid the thousands of jagged stone splinters from the breaking points of the road, his upper chest cramped. He couldn't catch his breath.

Then Ranma understood. The Old Ghoul's ki infused the stones, and he'd inadvertently breathed the pulverized debris. Ranma found his internal aura useless; the air inside his chest wasn't really part of him. Smiling a terrible smile, the Amazon Matriarch caused a ki-burst, collapsing his lungs with energized road dust.

He fell face-first into the forsaken street. Slowly, Cologne efficiently broke his wrists, ankles, elbows, and kneecaps. Then, touching a dozen unfamiliar pressure points, she informed him his spine would be permanently paralyzed if he attempted to father children.

"Former son-in-law," stated the ancient Amazon in a ritualized, hypnotic tone, "you have resolved the kiss of death with honor, and I admit it was a good idea to also kill Mousse before he sought vengeance. The laws of my people are harsh, but Shampoo was my only great-grand daughter. If you had asked, I would have adopted you into our society, annulling her claim upon you. Never shall you know the joy of our Art again; I wish you long life, Ranma Saotome."

Cologne retreated into the Nekohaten. Shortly thereafter, an ambulance took Ranma away, but they drugged him into stupor, and he remembered little else.

'Sasuke's a moron, why did I ever listen to him?' Was his last coherent thought, but the reasons guiding his vengeance – Akane's selfishness, Happosai's dissipation, Genma's failure as a father, Soun's troublesome childishness, and the constant wearing annoyances of those who claimed to love/hate him, those followed down into his own Abyss.

-----

The next morning, she woke amidst the koi and smiled. While soaking wet, she went and hugged a sleeping, breathing, Nabiki, who woke up grouchy. The sloppy kiss on the groggy girl's left cheek made her eyebrows twitch as she realized who had crawled into her bed.

Highly amused at this reaffirmation of life, Ranma was puzzled when the middle Tendo removed her nightshirt, and began loudly moaning and grunting his name.

"Ranma!!" yelled Akane as she barged in, "Why are you in bed with my half naked sister, and why is a koi flapping on top of the covers?!"

Eyes glinting with revenge, Nabiki grinned evilly, and said, "Why Akane, Ranma was merely demonstrating the difference between a live animal and his tongue."

When she punted him into the horizon, he spread his arms and flew.

----

Roof hopping was the best way to travel, even while carrying a passenger.

"Oh ho hoho ho HO!" Laughed Kodachi as she lay in his arms, licking a peppermint-mocha confection. She was actually wearing a normal black blouse/skirt combo, and unarmed.

The gymnast had already become annoying, but Ranma felt he owed her at least an ice cream date. Picturing her corpse's traumatized expression, he glanced down at The Black Rose's exhilarated face. She grinned upwards and offered a lick.

Unthinkingly he accepted.

Kodachi laughed, causing him to flinch, and announced, "My Ramna-sama has seen fit to grant me an indirect kiss!" Then she smiled goofily, and stopped squirming, concentrating on the ice cream cone.

Ducking a spatula and dodging shuriken, he wondered how Ukyo and Shampoo had noticed. Glancing back, they looked upset.

As they jumped by Konatsu tying up Sasuke, Kodachi waved merrily at her minion.

"Unhand my twisted sister, Saotome!" Yelled Kuno from below.

"Tate-chan, you gave me permission, remember?"

"Ah, right, Dachi-chan. . . . . Saotome, your hands on aren't on her enough!"

As her brother fell behind, Kodachi commanded over the wind "Let's go back to my place Ranma-sama."

He took another lick and changed course for the Kuno mansion. Where was water when he wanted it? Then Ranma remembered his good buddy, Mr. Green Turtle, and brightened.

When they arrived at the Kuno rooftops though, Kodachi extracted herself from his arms, kissed him on the nose, and told him she expected his presence this coming Friday night. He blinked.

As Kodachi entered her house by windowsill, Shampoo and Ukyo arrived. . . .. . "For a second I thought this might be painless."

Seeing their expressions become angrier, if that was possible, Ranma fled.

'Oops, did I say that out loud?' Raced through his mind, as he bounced off Mr. Green Turtle's head. The girls weren't so lucky.

"Dodge this you four-timing jackass!" Ukyo defended against the alligator with a mighty heave.

Part of the projectile changed directions in mid-air, foiling his simple jumping evasion. "Yaah!" He knew exactly what the claws in his back meant: Mr Green Turtle had carried a passenger on its back. "Get it off! Get it off!" The cat that was Shampoo meowed spitefully. Her Airen had this one coming!

-----

"Hey Ucchan, we need to talk."

After school, he visited his cute fiancée's lair. Ukyo Kuonji remained his dearest friend. Their eyes met, and he watched her face: glaring with an expression mixing defiance, pride, and betrayal; she looked like a puppy that had destroyed a new pair of shoes after being smacked.

"Quiet Ucchan, quiet. Let me thank you first."

"Why?" Returned the chef, fearing the click of the released safety before the gunshot targeting her heart.

"Because Akane isn't ready to be married yet." His tone bespoke compassion and loss.

"I don't understand."

"Don't feel bad; I didn't either. Akane has a long road to travel, before she can fly beside me, instead of dragging us down. Tonight you and I are going to a cozy little restaurant called the 'First Taste of Spring;' invariably I'll be splashed and we'll end the date as two girls. Does this bother you?"

"Does this mean you finally see me as woman?"

"As long as you never forget I'm a man."

"Ranchan, despite what you think, or how I've acted in the past, that will never be a problem. When did you learn to speak real Japanese, anyway?"

Sheepishly, he told her "Hinako's been helping with er, en, enun," (a brief pause accompanied by a look of concentration) "Enunciation. wheh. I'll tell you at dinner tonight Ucchan, and long as you don't mind leaving your restaurant..."

"Like I've told your other girls before Ranchan -- I'm a woman first and an okonomiyaki chef second!" Ukyo struck a pose, forgetting she'd bound her chest today. "Besides, you aren't the only one busy. I had a little adventure of my own while you were away. The Ucchans actually hasn't been open a full day for about half a month."

"Er, right... See ya here in a couple hours. Formal dress, just so you know."

Slowly, with budding disbelief, Ranma discovered evenings spent with Ukyo never ended badly.

----

He stopped practicing the Perfect Scarlet Dewdrop; while he felt warm looking into Akane's eyes, his perceptions had changed. From talking to her unguarded heart, Ranma believed Akane could never trust him, because deep inside she lacked confidence in her ability as a wife.

While it didn't matter to him she was an angry, uncute, clumsy gorilla-girl who couldn't cook, swim, or dance, she felt those qualities meant much. She pushed him away because she had no inner peace, and no matter what his actions, Ranma knew he couldn't change that part of Akane, not in a mere day. Unless he changed that part, she would always dream dreams that did not include him at her side.

----

Returning to his vendetta against Happosai, he spent two weeks mastering control over the air inside his lungs. Cologne's crippling attack would never work on him again, and he could replicate it with a handful of sand. He adapted the cloud of ki Happosai used as a counter for the Way of the Silent Thief into the Gentle Stilling Breath technique. Thanks to Hinako-sensei's education, he knew it worked by stopping the alveoli of the lungs from absorbing oxygen, knocking the opponent unconscious.

Seeing its usefulness to his Art, Ranma began mastering biology. Akane, always upset when he questioned Hinako in the mornings, blushed deeply the week he understood the mechanics of human anatomy. The day she attended as girl, Ranma made damn sure to hit the tomboy's sleep point so she missed school. Ranma didn't feel like putting up with Akane's insecure violence when Hinako helped her find herself on the anatomy charts. Nabiki had laughed her ass off upon discovering Ranma's ignorance of the clitoris, a year or so of yesterdays past.

Extremely tired of Kasumi's beef bowl, Ranma began following his father's dream – eating the menus of every restaurant in Japan. Only, he shared them with Ukyo.

----

Another day, another evening spent relaxing with his best friend. He didn't think of these nights out as dates. After over an hour on trains, they arrived at a Cajun place in the 'little America' section of Tokyo.

Pointing to the picture of what they wanted, ignoring the English names beside the dishes, Ukyo began their conversation.

"So what have you been doing lately?" She had accepted his odd situation earlier; she always did. Spending time with Ukyo still included surprises.

"Advanced Algebra. Ugh. I hate most math, it's only useful for understanding physics."

"Only most? You think part of it isn't a useless headache? And since when do you understand physics?"

Thinking for a second, Ranma looked over at the wall, littered with dozens USA type posters. His attention fell on one of soldier standing on a submarine, waving the American flag with the ocean as a backdrop. By the 'March' title he thought it very military thanks to his limited English, not realizing it came from a calendar.

"The good part of math is geometry. Musubetsu Kakuto Ryu is all about the right angle of attack, and some of the shapes make interesting ki exercises. As for physics, you know they have equations for the right amount of force and motion? Hinako keeps telling me the advanced stuff gets used lots, like helping United States Marine Units swim faster by reducing water resistance in their clothing. So far though, it hasn't helped me."

"Why even bother?" Her tone indicated she wouldn't.

"Ukyo, you don't realize how soothing this experience has been for me. Whenever I want to, I can relax for a day and my form in the Art won't lapse. I can play practical jokes people would hold grudges for a lifetime over, and keep the memories forever. I can even hurt people, and they'll be fine tomorrow. It's like an infinite opportunity. If I don't learn this junk now, I'll avoid it the rest of my life, and be a lesser person for it."

"But still. . . . . ."

"Well what about it? What would you do with endless time? I've asked before, but you never really answered."

"Let me think a bit Ran-chan."

She was silent through their meal, and he respected that.

During his second desert of cherry cherry cheesecake, Ukyo spoke up:

"I would learn to cook more than just okonomiyaki, and while I'm at get rich somehow. I know I'd try 'til I seduced you. Hmm... I'd become a good enough martial artist that we could seriously spar. Definitely kill Genma. Figure out a way to happily marry you without crushing Akane or Shampoo, and make that jackass who calls himself my father switch my legal gender back to female. Finally, I'd learn magic."

"Magic?" Ranma stopped eating in surprise.

"You do realize how magic has totally sent our relationship down the toilet, right? If I knew enough to stop the weird shit, we could have a loving, stable relationship, Ran-chan!"

As Ukyo burbled on, Ranma decided she was absolutely right. Magic indeed ruined much of his life, usually by irresponsible usage. However, messing with it might break whatever strange mechanism kept him inside this day. He wasn't ready yet.

The rest of the evening flew by, and when escorting Ukyo back to her restaurant, she stopped Ranma-chan (run-away street cleaning machine) from leaving her at the doorstep. After a moment inside, she returned with hot water and triggered the curse.

"Ran-chan, have you kissed anyone yet, and meant it?"

He had been groped, kissed on the nose, and even shared indirect kisses, both over duct tape and ice cream. He'd saved Shampoo from the ghost cat with a kiss, but hadn't 'meant' it. While he had wanted to kiss Akane after Saffron, they never quite got around to it.

"No, I haven't."

"Are we gonna get interrupted if we do?"

Thinking hard, he answered honestly: "No."

"Will you?"

He did.

----

Drinking, he tried and abandoned. With low alcohol tolerance, it wasn't fun, and with the morning body resets, he couldn't raise his limit.

When he had exhausted Hinako-sensei's knowledge of anatomy and mathematics, Ranma began taking buses and trains to colleges and questioning professors. When he demonstrated advanced ki manipulation, they happily answered in exchange for future research help. None ever asked why he swore with the conditional "provided tomorrow truly is tomorrow."

----

When he challenged Happosai again and used Gentle Stilling Breath, the old letch created a bubble of his own ki around himself, demonstrating a counter-technique.

Then they fought in majestic battle. Ranma paralyzed his own nerves when the itching powder came out. The instant before they touched, he disintegrated the poisoned acupuncture needles by firing lances of ki from each nexus in his body. He had such a tight focus over his own battle energies, that the Happo-Go-En-Satsu no longer required a conscious effort to block. He had practiced enough meditation that the hunting call of the demons known as cats did not disrupt his focus.

After fifteen minutes, the grandmaster took a strange stance. "Musubetsu Kakuto Ryuu imitating the Chilling Lips of Death," said the wizened old man in a subdued voice. Then he swiped his hand through the air, and Ranma felt a conglomeration of ki he never dreamed possible. Screaming in agony, he felt immense pain and lost concentration. The fight finished quickly after.

Happosai's newest attack was extremely complicated, and Ranma suffered through multiple agonizing demonstrations. (The last one hurt so much; she killed Happosai the next day and went out with Soun and Genma in celebration.) Finally, when Ranma thought he understood its principles, mastery took a long time.

----

During this training, in a strange bout of nostalgia Ranma missed Shampoo and Kodachi. After a trip to the Kuno mansion, Ranma found he missed Shampoo, and truly forgave her for ruining his wedding. When Shampoo realized this, she returned to her old irritating behaviors. Then he'd had enough of her too.

He kept visiting Ukyo daily, though her initial insincere apology irked him. You shouldn't apologize for winning, or being yourself. Her unnecessary humiliation made him uncomfortable. At least Ucchan's sycophancy went away when he explained his presence meant she was already forgiven. He kissed her goodbye regularly now.

----

"Heya Ucchan," greeted Ranma, as he had dozens of times before.

He ignored her puffy eyes, and entered the restaurant despite the 'closed' sign. Konatsu, ever vigilant, snuck him in. Visiting in the mornings was different than the afternoon.

"I'm not going to apologize," apologized Ukyo, "it's just I want you to be happy..."

Holding her for five minutes while she cried herself out, Ranma started wondering how life with his best friend might be. Today, he concluded the situation no longer weirded him out.

Knowing now was the time she'd remain quiet, Ranma explained: "I forgave you a long time ago. I've been stuck repeating this day for years now. You don't believe me yet, but keep in mind how my life is, and the next words out of your mouth are going to be 'Wanna marry me and go at it then?' "

"Were not!" Ukyo retorted indignantly. "Though I wouldn't really mind that, I was going to say," at this point Ranma spoke with her, matching the contemplative tone, "The spatula swipes reverent / across the scrambled batter / that is our lives."

Snuggling closer, Ukyo admitted, "Ok, I believe you."

Walking over to a booth with Ukyo draped around him, Ranma positioned them more comfortably. "I finally understand it Ucchan! The technique I've been working on for months!"

"Um. . . . what technique Ranchan?" Her voice sounded curious, relaxed, happy.

"The Chilling Lips of Death."

"Oooh! Sounds kinky."

He laughed with her; having his best friend around eased his heart.

----

That night he took Ukyo to an upscale place in Tokyo called the Dancing Dragon, which cost about 400,000 yen. He'd found Nabiki's emergency stash long ago, and now stole it regularly, for it would return tomorrow.

He rented a black tux, and she wore a powdered blue baby doll dress matching the ribbon eternally present in her hair.

Their night could only be described as magical. The food was rich, the company wonderful, and Ukyo told him more about her life. He only asked a little every time they did something, this way she never lost her mystique.

"Why did you challenge the ocean so much on your quest for vengeance Ucchan? It seems silly; the sea doesn't change, endlessly grinding stones to sand."

She gave That Look, the same glare that appeared whenever he reminded her about the obsession she bore on her honor for ten long years. It transformed her into a samurai while remaining a woman, one of the things he had come to love about her. The steel in her soul.

"First it was for balance, and then for endurance. Finally it became a daily pledge, a reaffirmation of who I was, until at last, part of the sea entered my soul, and I didn't need to do it anymore." Her eyes looked reflective and terrible, and Ranma was reminded again of the faux girl who had tried decapitating him with a sharpened giant spatula.

"What do you mean?"

"I wasn't sure myself until last week. It's a private matter." Ukyo inclined her head, indicating the subject to be closed.

Ranma knew while he lingered in Jusendo, Ukyo had removed Tsubasa from her life, and her relationship with Konatsu changed. It involved Konatsu's sisters and a challenge, but he never pressed Ukyo, and didn't start now.

Noticing his curious look, Ukyo winked. "Let's just say, Ki-attacks don't work well on me because of my time with the Sea, and leave it at that, sugar."

"Can you show me?" He knew Ukyo wasn't skilled enough to use a pure Ki attack.

"Alright, Ranchan," she dared, rising from her dinner seat "dance with me with your aura flared."

They waltzed, tangoed, and did a kata like contortion Ukyo called the Lambada. The crowd thought they looked radiant, because when Ranma flared his battle aura with Ukyo in his arms, it flowed around her, doing no harm.

When lemon-lime Sprite splashed in the middle of a Sinatra song, the two girls continued without missing a step.

After two hours, Ukyo dragged Ranma-chan outside, and paid for a cab back to her restaurant. They kissed all way home, and with how Ucchan's chest poked, Ranma knew the other girl wouldn't want to stop.

The cab driver smiled, holding a handkerchief to his nose while monies exchanged hands. Only Ranma saw his lascivious wink and as the taxi sped off, for Ukyo physically carried the red-head up to her bedroom and deposited her on the futon.

"Doesn't it bother you we're both girls?" Ranma's curiosity didn't break the moment. In Akane-land, that was a clobber'n comment.

"You are Ranma Saotome, no matter what face you wear. And if you expect to have what comes between a man and a woman without giving me a wedding ring, you're doomed to disappointment."

Boneless, the chef unzipped her own dress, and tossed it casually in the corner, neatly covering a pile of her dirty underwear. 'Hey its not like I expected this to happen!' Ukyo told her libido. 'Shut up! Shut up! Let it happen already!' was her instinctive response.

After a brief moment of consideration, Ranma decided whatever happened tonight could happen, and began removing her tux.

---

Afterwards, they laid together, flesh to flesh, and Ucchan whispered in her ear. "Ranchan, what was the matter? You didn't, not once. Ten for me and none for you, I won't marry you if I can't make you happy!"

Feeling her best friend's warm tears, Ranma snuggled closer and didn't answer. Giving her cute fiancée joy felt right inside her heart, but Ucchan's point remained. If they couldn't connect intimately, what did it really mean? 'Perhaps I need time away,' thought Ranma.

Her mind spun in circles, always veering away from a logical explanation.

----

With Ukyo's selfless rejection, he threw himself into the art. He didn't understand his own physical and emotional responses, and could only hope the discipline of Musubetsu Kakuto Ryuu might bring clarity.

While working out a counter to the Chilling Lips of Death, Ranma made a breakthrough. He accidentally adapted the Gentle Stilling Breath choking technique to allow energy absorption from the environment. Rather than suppressing motion, he pulled the basis of motion away.

Amazed, Ranma found he could store this energy in a ki focus, to use as needed. To his chagrin, the process was time-consuming and not of immediate use, since his world reset daily. Abandoning foci, he concentrated on drawing ambient ki inward.

He was very close to challenging for mastership again. If he could power the Lips himself with an outside source, surely his version would beat Happosai's. With only the normal technique, Ranma thought the old perv's experience meant he'd lose, and the pain from a loss wasn't taken lightly.

The next week, she practiced incessantly; only switching forms to realize her gender was irrelevant. No school, only a quick meal in the morning and Kasumi's beef bowl at night. When Ranma's aura fountained thirty feet high, even his mother steered clear.

He named the technique 'Kissing the Face of Life.'

In perfecting his 'kiss,' Ranma emphasized speed. When facing Happosai, he hoped to take the gnome down before that one somber moment. The Chilling Lips of Death invariably left him in unimaginable pain, so he had stopped regular challenges. His non-training time had been spent in the company of Ukyo or college professors.

In the ninetieth hour of practice, came the unthinkable: Ranma Saotome miscalculated. Severely.

After speeding it up to her satisfaction, Ranma noticed she wasn't controlling the process. The ambient energies kept coming too fast! She converted everything into ki, but her body couldn't cope with the absorption rate. 'Focus, focus... I don't lose, not at the Art.'

Positive thinking didn't help.

Her aura expanded in discrete jumps, covering the Tendo yard, the Tendo compound, and then the entire neighborhood. She felt her father try the Shooting Star Cloth technique, but the tablecloth he used flash-burned away instantly. Expansion increased the area from which power was drawn, until finally Ranma noticed her skin smoldering. She hadn't actually died yet, just taken crippling injuries, and idly wondered about her strange existence.

Could she die? Permanently?

Like a release valve, she shot an energy blast into the air, hoping to rid herself of power, and it worked, stabilizing her aura's position. It wasn't enough. She felt people weakening from energy drain. Heedless of the consequences, her whole body became a surface blasting ki upwards, vaporizing her clothing. Ranma's nerves screamed. The reaction had propagated too far, and she couldn't force the miles of her aura to contact fast enough.

Someone dying inside the aura web used an emotion based ki attack, shattering her iffy control. With a silent, endless scream, the power released itself in a spectacular self-feeding explosion. The Nerima prefecture vanished in a devastating ki-bomb.

As she evaporated at ground zero, Ranma's last thought was 'Kissing the Face of Life meant courting Death.'

--end Faces of Life and Death—

Next: "The Illusion of the Abyss"


	6. moments5

(-chan implies endearment, familiarity)

(-san implies extra respect)

"The Illusion of the Abyss"

Ranma returned to herself, and groaned at such a forgetful mistake. Her true ki reserves did not, could not change. Practicing for eighteen hours increased her ki ability. . . . . until next morning. Simply, her own body limited her technique.

'Wait, didn't I explode?' Jumping out of the pond in joy, Ranma performed a lazy backflip, feeling her muscles stretch. Relief, like a strong cup of tea, warmed her stomach. Death was irrelevant.

"Shut up boy!" Chastised Genma, coming in with a leaping kick.

Ranma realized she was laughing and couldn't stop, and opened herself, Kissing the Face of Life.

No slouch in the threat the department, Genma recognized his child held tremendous power at about the moment Ranma blasted him, sending the fat man through the Tendo wall.

"Heh. Time to get serious." Said Ranma between chuckles, upping the speed of energy absorption.

Shortly thereafter, Nerima exploded.

As she died unafraid, Ranma spread across the universe, drifting. Becoming one with the Dao, as her Tibetan instructors blathered. She felt pulled by an enlightened tunnel, but before the way opened, awareness deserted her.

--

Death was indescribably soothing. Ranma wanted to rethink her priorities, after experiencing quasi-transcendence.

'When you embrace the endless, you leave the useless, petty part of yourself behind in this world. Or perhaps, taking a part of the Dao back with you, merely pierces all illusions.' Such deep thoughts, Ranma's inner voice mused. . . . . . . 'First, that technique will be mine!'

Determined to triumph, Ranma defined how quickly she could draw in and release ki. Eleven spectacular explosions led to the twelfth day changing her fundamental self. She struggled with her deepest inner being, against sweet obliteration. Surrender was defeat, and Ranma Saotome did not lose the battles she decided to fight.

The twelfth attempt, she achieved a mental state poorly described as oneness, zazen, or pre-emptive deja vu. Her ki became the pure white of total self-acceptance; her thoughts clarified. Ranma realized her curse was a blessing, and marrying soon wasn't the ultimate solution. She felt a hole in her mind, but it vanished from her conscious awareness.

Realizations unbound her inner energies, allowing greater control over the technique she called Kissing the Face of Life.

Until Akane could live with herself, sharing her life would be sharing Akane's own painful self-recrimination, and Ranma was not a masochist. Ucchan wouldn't be happy unless Ranma was happy, and Ranma doubted that future. The fiancée-tangled knots of honor still bound her, but now she saw ways to unravel them.

Epiphany.

'Time, I have enough time, limitless time,' thought Ranma, discovering a simple way to activate his curse with cold and hot ki, only to find it ineffective while in the koi pond.

Noticing her father and the Tendos staring in fearful awe, almost broke the oneness. Examining her outward self, she glowed with an ever-building amount of stark white, serene ki. The water in the pond began retreating from her feet in perfect ripples, and she became male.

He stopped drawing power with effort, and hesitantly sought the damaged part of his mind -- the catfist. Slowly, he cleansed this darkest cornerstone of his psyche. Traveling beyond death made his fears insignificant, and Ranma doubted physical pain would bother him again. He could concentrate while energy overload ripped him apart, a redefinition of limits he thought impossible before. If he lost, it would be from his body being too damaged, not lack of will. Emotional uncertainty might unnerve him, but Ranma would no longer cringe from stinging memories of sharp teeth and claws.

Nekoken's feral state was gone forever, abandoned near the triumphant trumpets of Valhalla. Ranma did not mourn; the activated Nekoken had unbalanced his ki, literally breaking his mind. Minus the unrestrained ferocity, he could mimic the catfist's claws with Musubetsu Kakuto Ryu

Fighting a power-high, he forced gathered ki out slowly as waves of diffuse benevolence, avoiding destruction. As zazen left, a last realization came -- depending on any emotion, even it, would be unhealthy. Too much confidence meant he ignored problems because they would solve themselves. Too much tranquility meant he would ignore problems because they could not truly hurt him, and therefore did not matter.

Returning his full attention to the physical world, she (now that the waters of the pond had returned) found Kasumi kneeling at her feet, her parents having sex, Soun Tendo in a posture of relaxed meditation, and Akane crying.

Stepping out of the water, she triggered the change, and dried his clothing with hot ki.

He helped Kasumi up, and eldest Tendo asked reverently, with water dripping from her clothing, "Ranma-sama, make me your disciple and I will do anything: bear your children, become your wife, renounce my family name, even commit honorable suicide."

Taken by surprise, he replied briskly: "You need not debase yourself for me Kasumi, I promise to teach you when today and tomorrow are no longer the same. We start at four-fifteen next morning."

Kow-towing, Kasumi left to finish breakfast, ignoring the dripping mess her clothing had become and the mud on her brow. _(Kow-tow -- a very deep bow, meant to show extreme humility, in which one's forehead touches the ground.)_

"Akane-chan," he asked, "why are you crying?"

"I don't like myself that much," she said between sobs.

Ranma smiled, "Don't worry, you'll get better."

Her tears stopped, and she smiled hesitantly, making his heart jump. She wouldn't remember this transformation tomorrow, he reminded himself.

"R-Really?"

"I promise."

"Then I'm happy." Akane stepped inside around his parents, collecting herself.

Soun looked up from his ponderings. "Ranma-san, whenever did you become so eloquent?"

"Hinako-sensei helped me with pronunciation and language."

Sighing, Sound replied, "Ah Hinako, such a good woman, I should marry her."

Nodding, Ranma went inside for breakfast. After tempering his ki control, he needed the advice of a math professor at Tokyo University.

His talk with Minamoto-sensei lasted into the night.

----

Next morning, Ranma attempted the grisliest facet of Nodoka's advice; an appeasement for when he broke the endless moment. Honorable suicide couldn't truly kill him.

"If it means you'll stay alive, I'll sleep with you right now!" Akane's outburst greeted a stunned breakfast table, after Ranma announced her intent.

"Would you, could you, with a woman Akane?" Grabbing her teacup, Ranma poured hot water over her head, and used a hidden bubble of cold ki to prevent the change.

When Akane hesitated, Nabiki spoke decisively "If she won't, I will, and I know both Shampoo and Ukyo will too. Is that 'manly' enough for you Nodoka-san?"

Ranma watched her mother nod her head, but snarled, "It ain't enough for me! Mother, dojo, now!"

Watching Nodoka gather the katana, she found Kasumi standing in her way.

"If it matters in this decision, I will also trade my virtue for your life, Ranma Saotome." Kasumi was in tears; this admission cost much.

Struck by this plea, Ranma didn't react fast enough. Nodoka drew the honor blade, and turned to Akane. "Break this now Akane-chan!" she said urgently.

Nabiki dashed to the phone, and speed dialed Ukyo, then Shampoo. Yelling, she demanded their presence in an emergency.

With a kiyahh!! Nodoka's katana snapped.

Smiling, Nodoka regarded her daughter. "My honor is not more important than my child. So which caring young girls will you sleep with first?"

Ranma stepped into the Umi-sen-ken and vanished, watching as they fruitlessly searched. It gave her a warm feeling, this touching concern.

The last lingering doubts about her manliness and Jusenkyo vanished from Ramna's mind. Before falling into sleep that night, she spoke the truth, "I am who I am," and meant it.

----

Awakening in the koi waters, she challenged Happosai with a flashy release of pure feminine ki, summoning him from whatever hole he lurked in.

This time, Ranma outlasted the Chilling Lips of Death. When he entered zazen, channeling self-acceptance, the technique could not unbalance his ki. He felt centered within and without, noticing no pain. This contentment meant he failed to counter with Chilling Lips of his own, interested in the beauty of the leafy weeds on the ground.

Observing the aura around his student, Happosai bowed his head. "Musubetsu Kakuto Ryuu imitating the Sharp Edge of Nirvana." Summoning ki, the ancient grandmaster invoked a technique to banish rampaging demons.

Hundreds of tendrils of ki assaulted Ranma, different in temperature, emotion, power, length, and intent. If Escher designed a kaleidoscope, he might have envisioned how the spinning patterns behaved.

As they enveloped Ranma, Genma realized none were able to touch his son, that Ranma's battle aura seemed to be spinning. . . . . until it exploded outward in a ki-vortex larger than a house.

By unspoken agreement, the masters present endured, until the fury faded. Grateful, Ranma said, "Thank you for teaching me such a technique Master Happosai. My turn: Musubetsu Kakuto Ryuu imitating the Nekoken."

"Very well, Master Ranma, Musubetsu Kakuto Ryuu imitating the Essence of Sea."

They clashed, and Ranma faced an inconceivable defense: Happosai took no damage from the claws of ki; he channeled Ranma's ki around himself, much like waves broke over a rocky shoreline. So this was what Ucchan meant.

Retreating, Ranma replenished his energy by Kissing the Face of Life, and he watched Happosai pull out a scarlet bra and panties, doing the same.

"Break!!" Yelled the old letch in a tone of command Ranma instinctually obeyed. Later he identified this as a ki-voice.

"I award upon you the rank of Master of the Musubetsu Kakuto Ryuu, Ranma Saotome, however I will not permit a grandmaster challenge until you create a ball of ki like this one."

Abruptly, a ball of swirling pink and muted purple ki pulsated in the air above Happosai. Looking at the emotions, Ranma admitted he could not create a ki-ball of consummated love.

"As I thought, Master Ranma." The wizened gnome seemed disappointed. "So many pretty ladies, and you haven't had one yet?" His eyes became teary at opportunity lost.

Ranma held the bridge of his nose, disgusted. Then the old man came over and demonstrated the ki flows needed to use the Chilling Lips of Death in the empty air. Ranma matched him exactly, and Happi beamed in pride.

"M'boy, I learned that technique from a French prostitute seventy-five years ago. It works around the yin/yang; male and female. If used by a man on a man with weaker inner strength, the stronger ki will imbalance the weaker, leading to immense pain. I don't know what happens if a woman uses it on another woman. The Chilling Lips is best if used by a man on a woman, or a woman on a man. It's how my unworthy students convinced their wives to marry."

Genma nodded. "My son, please only use that technique on a woman you can truly love, for she will follow you to the ends of the world, and forgive anything."

Soun added, crying sadly, "Yes, my dear wife would never have looked at a poor man like me without such an awesome technique. To my shame, I overused it, and she developed wasting sickness. Be careful with such responsibility, especially around my daughters!" A demon-headed Soun roared.

The masters of Musubetsu Kakuto Ryuu left the field of combat, having gained in strength by one. For now, Happosai's willingness to teach was exhausted, but surely, his father kept secrets.

----

Shaking off the lingering koi, Ranma rose into a strange stance. Genma, who recognized the form in dread, aborted his leap, backing away fearfully. 'This time you aren't getting away old man.'

Experimentally slashing at the air, the red-headed girl watched in satisfaction as a shallow cut appeared on her father's hide. Remembering early mastership duels, she diffused ki throughout the Tendo backyard, setting a ruse.

When the older Saotome vanished with his Way of the Silent Thief, she yelled "Ha!!" using a ki-voice like Happosai's. Beads of her aura condensed and blasted Genma, ruining his escape. The blast echoes sounded like thunder crashing down upon a parched meadow, hanging solemnly in the air.

Ranma stepped out of the pond, and quickly wove the hot-ki trigger upon his curse. He continued toward his father; this reckoning had been building over the years.

The Hell's Cradle technique had been infuriating, but the Thousand Fists earned his respect. Having battled Happosai with his father's techniques, he knew why Genma had not bested his Master. None accounted for the next level of ki control, a level his father never reached. A level he expected to surpass shortly.

Slowly approaching, he spoke in cold anger. "Old Man, this is your last chance to impress me. In my lifetime I've gone from utter trust in you, to utter contempt. Trying to run my life for the benefit of your lazy ass. The catfist!" He swiped the air, shredding Genma's gi and leaving a bloody gash his chest. "The Curses!" She triggered the transformation, and continued onward. "The Engagements!" Now she faced her father. "You have one last chance old man, before I leave you a begging, bleeding wreck. Don't bother with that pathetic Crouch of the Wild Tiger, face me like the man you've forced me to become!"

Genma Saotome acknowledged his fate with an ironic nod at his female son. With odd nobility, like a prisoner walking the plank with his chin high, Genma assumed a stance unknown to Ranma. He bowed his head, and left his arms at his sides, appearing to relax. "Musubetsu Kakuto Ryuu imitating the Ghosts of a Thousand Fists. This technique I never perfected, never recorded, never had the will to unleash. Know this my son: you have made me proud. On three, we finish this, and perhaps, I will be redeemed."

Speaking together, the girl and her father counted, and began on the third beat in cadence, heedless of the watching Tendos. Heedless of the shocked expressions, and soft disbelieving mutters of their audience.

"Ancestral Demon Whip Kick!" Genma yelled, as his form blurred, appearing ghostlike. Dodging both the kick itself, and the follow-up vacuum pulse, Ranma appeared to hover in the air as she bounced off small platforms of semi-solid ki, building momentum and velocity.

Anticipating Ranma's plan, if baffled at the mechanics, Genma whispered "Embracing Raging Anger." His form blurred further, and with bloody sweat soaking his gi, the master of a thousand fists heard the air buzz angrily.

When Ranma's Meteor Kick met her father's vacuum barrier, Genma's form blasted through the walls of the Tendo compound, coming to rest across the street in a neighbor's living room. In upsetting the equilibrium of her father's aura, Ranma had entered a huge triggered vacuum guillotine. So tightly controlled was her ki, that it merely shredded her clothing and left deep, arcing gashes across her leg and stomach, rather than cutting her into three pieces.

Using semi-solid ki to stop herself from bleeding to death, she forced pressure on her wounds, and walked to her unconscious father. Either the neighbors weren't home, or they weren't coming out.

Idly, she formed small bitter ki balls and lobbed them at Genma's face, slapping him awake. The overmatched man struggled upright, dislodging fragments of furniture caused by his impact. Like a scolded dog, he looked to his son.

"It's not finished yet old man," she told him icily, "neither of us in the hospital yet." With a circle of multiple images, Ranma mercilessly pummeled him in the remains of a stranger's living room.

Not even trying to block, Genma closed his eyes and whispered in a pained and breathy gasp "Angelic Feast of Souls." A technique meant to cleave opponents apart, when surrounded. Three expanding circular vacuum waves emanated from Genma, destroying Ranma's images, and the structural integrity of the house they fought in.

Learning from her earlier mistake, Ranma employed the Essence of the Sea, and sharp air broke around her in a mighty thunderclap, shattering a television screen. The old man's ribs were at least cracked, plus his right leg fractured. The price Genma paid for defeating Splitting Cat Hairs

Noting her father had fallen to one knee and assumed another vacuum shield, she idly disrupted it with hot and cold ki. It collapsed in a loud boom, leaving Genma missing a large chunk of his upper arm.

Satisfied, she said, "It is enough. You have permission to collapse. I'll make sure you live."

Shortly thereafter, Ranma jumped out the house carrying Genma. Immediately, it rumbled in on itself, falling in pieces cut with finer tools than human hands allowed.

Forcing pressure on her father's wounds, she absently told Kasumi to call an ambulance. When the Tendos and her mother began berating her for reckless behavior, she released part of her aura, lighting up with command presence. In the sudden silence, Ranma recognized an unfamiliar emotion in those she cared for: mindless fear.

Refusing treatment, she spent the remainder of the day at Ucchans, not noticing she never returned male. As she walked off, Akane sadly whispered, "Ranma, what have you become?"

----

"Ucchan, you told me before you managed to get rid of Tsubasa Kurenai while I rearranged Jusendo. What happened?" He didn't date with her now, but the pleasant company of his best friend drew Ranma back.

"Hmm, those adventures are not mine to truly share Ran-chan. But, this much won't hurt! I needed his help, so I promised to get Tsubasa laid." Her expression of satisfaction involuntarily made Ranma step backwards.

Horrified, he stuttered "Y-you mean. . . . . you did it . . . . . with him?" Betrayal brought an almost physical illness.

Applying her spatula to his head, she recaptured his attention.

"No, moron, I made him disguise himself as the cutest, teeth-rotting, let-me-barf-now thing he could dream up. Then I brought him over to Azusa Shiatori's and he got inside her panties within fifteen minutes. Once he found out how to spread Azusa's legs, Tsubasa stopped chasing me."

Relief made him observe he'd raised a small aura. Dismissing it in nonchalance, he said, "I didn't know you knew that little ditz Ucchan."

"How could I forget the story of Slutzenin and your ill-omened first liplock as a girl?"

"It didn't count! It didn't count!" Ranma made a mental note to kick Sanzenin's ass tomorrow. 'Damn it! It -didn't- count.'

Laughing, Ukyo served him a chef's special, fresh off her grill.

-----

What had those fools meant about the true nature of the Chilling Lips of Death? Their warnings made no sense. Happosai had winked at him when Soun blew up about his daughter's safety. Ranma decided to test a weak version of the technique on a normal girl.

The closest normal girl was Kasumi Tendo.

---

"Kasumi, can you help me with something?" Having finished her morning chores two minutes ago, Kasumi had yet to start lunch for the household. Ranma cornered her in the laundry area as she finished folding.

"Shouldn't you be in school, Ranma?" An undertone in Kasumi's voice projected disappointment in him, as she moved the folded clothing into a basket.

"Hinako-sensei needed the time with Akane more, and asked me to leave. Your sister is very worried about her exams and sensei thought my presence distracting."

"Well, if that's the case, I could spare a few minutes for a simple task." Kasumi's voice returned to her normal cheer.

"A ki-technique I discovered has different applications based on gender. I would like to use a mild version on you, and for you relate the experience." Ranma's clinical tone reassured her and Kasumi nodded

"Very well, come to the kitchen after I put these away." Carrying a basket of laundry, Kasumi left.

Three minutes later, he faced Kasumi, who stood in a focused posture in the middle of her kitchen. Her eyes closed, and her breathing became rhythmic. Ranma invoked the Chilling Lips of Death at low intensity for thirty seconds.

Kasumi started breathing faster. Her hands, previously motionless at her sides, closed into tight fists. Sweat beaded her forehead, and she tightened her facial muscles, appearing stern. When he ended it, she made a surprised involuntary grunt.

Collecting herself, Kasumi twisted her hips a few times, then walked slowly over to the sink and wiped her face with a clean blue dishtowel. Breathing deeply, she took sixty seconds to speak.

"Ranma, promise me you won't use this technique before marriage."

"What do mean? What happened?" He asked.

"I forgive you because I know you acted in ignorance." She sounded strained. "That type of power is dangerous. What your technique did was make me feel good. Too good!" The intensity in Kasumi's voice made the last statement into a soft chiding shout. Ranma stood through the scolding with a dawning sense he inadvertently committed a terrible crime.

"Now, please excuse me while I bathe and change." Walking slowly and with additional motion near her waist, Kasumi left, distracted by herself.

Not understanding, Ranma didn't promise anything. He could try a stronger Chilling Lips tomorrow, but he didn't want to do anything Kasumi felt she had to forgive. He needed another normal girl instead.

Where would he find one today?

---

"Hiroshi, where's a good place to find women?"

"Hey Ran-man, you already have a collection, why not let some range free?"

"Yeah, whatever. How about if I pay, and you bring Daisuke too?"

"Cherry Blossoms. It's a night club for high school students trying to score at the college level, but the cover charge isn't cheap."

"Don't worry, I'll take care of everything."

---

Cherry Blossoms was half full, and they noticed a brand new red hotrod being taken away into valet parking as the taxi dropped them off.

Whistling, Hiroshi began gushing about vintage cars, how those tires were original and newly rethreaded. . . . .

Leaving their enraptured compatriot behind, they went in, letting the doorman know the babbling idiot's cover was paid.

Ten steps inside, Daisuke froze, and looked like he'd had a large wooden plank broken over his head.

"Yuka what are you doing here?"

Ranma and the newly entered Hiroshi exchanged glances, verifying the other's ignorance.

"You don't own me you idiot! I wanted to see how a real man could treat a lady. Groping my breasts a movie theater isn't a date, you know."

Yuka's glare melted off Daisuke's lecherous grin.

"Hey, when you let -your- hands wander down my body, I took it to mean the invitation was open!"

"I didn't 'let my hands wander' – you stuck the popcorn between your legs and picked seats so I couldn't see! If I hadn't been half falling out of my chair trying to watch the movie, I'd have **-never-** touched you there! You arranged for me to make that horrible mistake!"

Swiftly walking away, Ranma and Hiroshi held a whispered conversation.

"You know, I can almost sympathize, but let's cut to the chase Ranma -- I see serious babes over there!"

"Yeah, poor guy, I bet she told him to hold the popcorn and picked the seats herself." Happened once to him, when escorting Akane and her temper to a movie.

Implementing his brilliant plan with perfect calm, Ranma walked up to the indicated booth of four college girls, and asked, "Hey ladies, I'm a wandering martial artist, and I need some help with a technique I'm working on. It will only take a minute, and I'll pay your bill here tonight if you help."

Hiroshi watched, awed by his friend's audacity.

"Ayane, that pick up line has to be lamer than the last one. You owe me 300 yen!"

"No way! 'Let me take you for a ride with my smashing cherry red hotrod, and smell the burning rubber, baby' was far more sexist; like that loser could afford rubbers." Turning to Ranma, she added: "Women are more than just sex organs, you know." Ayane's generously condescending statement was greeted by the squeals of the other two girls from across the table, which caused a vein to throb in her forehead.

"Jun Ken Pow!" (rock crushed scissors) "Jun Ken Pow!" (scissors clashed) "Jun Ken Pow!" (paper covered rock) "Jun Ken Pow!" (rock was enveloped by paper) "Jun Ken Pow!" (scissors cut paper)

"Ha, that's three out of five; this hunk is mine! Move your overly generous ass out of the way for me and my new date!" Glaring at her friend reproachfully, the chubby girl on the aisle side of the booth exited to make room.

Emerging was a girl who would take non-descript as a complement. She wore thick glasses, and a generic green/black school fuku, though she seemed college age. By her grooming habits, she learned fashion sense from half-dead geriatric squirrels.

Shaking his head sadly, Hiroshi wondered if Ranma would accept a desperate college nerd-girl. The two babes looked like they were only here to help their friends. Compared to Ranma's other options, this was tossing giant lobsters away for the chance to catch minnows with mercury poisoning. Watching his friend sit the girl down at an empty table, he slunk closer.

"Ok, er, um..."

"Meiko!"

"Yeah, Reiko, sit and relax, this should be quick."

Not caring the hunk had butchered her name, the girl leaned back in her chair, and tensed up tighter than a tongue against a metal pole at –50 degrees.

With moderate concentration, Ranma focused a low-grade Chilling Lips of Death on the girl, not knowing what to expect. An almost invisible flickering in the air indicated the technique's activity.

Meiko arched her back, sucked in a deep breath, unexpectedly sneezed, and then frantically grabbed a napkin across the table, inadvertently spilling a glass of ice water. Gasping loudly, she overturned her chair, and appeared to knock herself out on the carpeted floor.

Noticing the return of his feminine side, Ranma switched back unnoticed while the fainting girl held everyone's attention. He arranged Meiko comfortably at an empty booth with Hiroshi watching her, and left after paying her tab.

Walking home, he deduced the Chilling Lips of Death made girls clumsy and distracted by making them feel good. Marginally useful in future fights, when he didn't want to hurt a would-be fiancée. Awfully complex for so little result, but then it probably acted like a mild aphrodisiac. Knowing his trouble with love potions and such, Kasumi had probably overreacted.

'Nabiki would be proud of me for figuring it out,' thought Ranma smugly.

Hiroshi examined Meiko intently after Ranma left. She appeared to have a nosebleed, her fuku was soaked though the ice water spilled toward Ranma, and an odd grin adorned her face.

Minutes later, the nerd-girl awakened with the face of an inquisitive Hiroshi blocking her vision.

"Damn that felt good!" Meiko shared happily. "I've never had one like that, especially one in public. Scandalous! I've got to go back and change my underwear now, here's my meishi "(she handed a damp card with her phone number on it to Hiroshi), "please tell your friend to call me, and that I'd like another demonstration. . . . . .. Kami. . . . . . I'd do anything to experience that again!"

Watching the girl stagger away, Hiroshi frowned. It might hurt more than he could dream, it might slaughter his grades and ruin his college chances, but he'd learn that technique if it killed him!

"Ayane, why is that strange boy laughing?"

"Hormones. Let us have a moment of silence for men who won't get laid until they are over thirty."

The three girls bowed their heads solemnly.

-----

Armed with a technique to unbalance a woman, Ramna entered the grounds of the Kuno mansion. His mission objective: to make Kodachi Kuno face the reality of his curse.

Learning his desire, Sasuke rushed him into Kodachi's room and fled. Having arranged for Tatewaki's absence, Ranma expected no interruptions.

Placing the grabby Kuno girl on the chair by her desk. Ranma gave a quick, clear explanation he knew she'd ignore, and triggered his change.

A red-headed girl looked back expectantly.

"Vile seductress, I don't believe you!" Kodachi began the attack.

"What would convince you?" Ranma ducked a razor hoop.

"Undeniable proof!" The exclamation was accompanied with a fine steel bola. Kodachi's lair held interesting toys.

"Fine!" Ranma switched genders. "This should make you listen!"

The Chilling Lips of Death, fully powered, struck Kodachi as she hesitated in the middle of throwing a taser web, surprised by the appearance of her love. Expecting ruined coordination and involuntary muscle spasms, Ranma received that and more.

This time no cold water interrupted the ki-composition of the flawlessly performed technique. No yin counterbalanced the magnetic yang.

Blushing severely, Ranma learned the true power of the Chilling Lips of Death, when a man used it on a woman. Doing his best to ignore the passionate screams, he politely turned away.

When the panting stopped, he turned back, and saw Kodachi had torn off the bottom of her leotard, and maintained a full split against her carpet throughout the experience. Her exhausted smile, along with the room's new musky aroma was statement enough.

"You wanted undeniable proof, right?"

Kodachi nodded.

Embarrassed by the necessity, Ranma removed his pants and boxers, setting them neatly on the floor.

"You are undeniably a man, Ranma-sama. I'd prefer you not proceed further for now, since I feel quite sore. See?" The girl held her crotch open with her hands, and with a gymnastic contortion put her feet behind her head, displaying herself.

Concentrating on his mission, Ranma asked, "Watch closely, and don't attack me, OK?"

With Kodachi's leering nod, he let cold ki trigger the curse.

"Normally, I would disbelieve such illusions, but I feel too mellow to fight. Can your trick pass this test though?"

Slowly untangling herself and hobbling over, Kodachi poked.

Feeling the intimately probing finger, Ranma asked with embarrassment, "Could you please stop that?"

After the finger withdrew, Ranma changed back, and winced as 'he' got grabbed. With Kodachi's hand in contact, Ranma switched again. Surprised at her palm's position, the gymnast poked upwards again, and then withdrew her finger quickly.

"Um, yes. . . . . the evidence is undeniable. Very well, I believe you."

Suddenly, as if something became aware of a new connection, Kodachi clutched her forehead in pain, and let loose a keening scream.

A corona of black energy surrounded her head, and staggering backwards, the girl fell onto her bed.

With great pain in her voice, she whispered: "By the nine spokes of heaven, grant me skill to overcome the corruption of eternity!"

A fine bracelet of silvery white appeared on Kodachi's hand. Streamers of light projected from it, obscuring her clothes, and coalescing into a black and white outfit with a prominent yin/yang motif. Embroidered on the sleeves were holy symbols of Japanese deities.

Jumping to attention, Kodachi stared at Ranma-chan with a black halo over her head, and incomprehension in her eyes. She burst into motion, a pattern unfamiliar to Ranma's experience. Attack or defense?

"Whatever you are, the balance of this universe is disrupted. It is my duty to eliminate the threat you represent! Weapon of my identity, emerge!"

Triply faster than her normal speed, the girl attacked Ranma with the weapon that appeared. Looking between dodges, Ranma saw it was a silvery white Kodachi (small Japanese hand sword; could be considered a large dagger) with a black rose emblazoned on the hilt.

"What are you supposed to be?" Ranma asked conversationally after a missed disemboweling stroke.

"I am the fulcrum of balance for this land; you will find yourself defeated by Devil Hunter Kodachi!" With an intricate set of attacks, the transformed girl proved she could talk and fight at the same time.

Snorting after a dozen dodges; Ranma infused her index finger with ki, and began parrying the weapon contemptuously. She ignored the small thin cut appearing on her finger from the first clash. An angry buzzing accompanied every parry, like a lightsaber duel from Star Wars. Upping her aura's power after the first block, Ranma felt the silvery-blue sparks as magic and ki struggled for dominance. Rather than fading, the energies peppered the room like surreal fireflies. Eventually, Ranma maneuvered Kodachi into slashing the dark halo overshadowing her head with a skillful redirection.

The darkness flashed, and seemed to melt back into strangely dressed girl, who blinked, confused.

Lowering her sword, Kodachi spoke wonderingly: "I remember now!" Concentrating, she sighed. "I still can't recall how this happened; whatever controls my memories has suffered a temporary setback."

Uncomfortably, Ranma fidgeted under Kodachi's piercing stare, directed at her vagina. 'The loon is a demon slayer?'

"Why Ranma-sama, you appear to be under the affects of a curse. Would you like it removed?" Devil Hunter Kodachi dismissed her weapon and sat on her bed.

"Nah, that's alright, I have control over the blessings of Jusenkyo and they are part of my identity. Did you know I was accursed from the beginning?" Traitorous or stupid?

"No, I can only sense magic when I'm a normal girl, though I admit to hunting the red-haired 'witch' to see if she was a succubus controlling you. My brother has not the gift, but senses magic too."

So that was why Kuno thought him a sorcerer!

"Why not just transform and investigate?"

"My artifact only reacts to the intentions of hostile, dangerous agencies. My calling is maintaining the supernatural peace; if I abuse my power, it will leave me forever. From what little abilities I have naturally, I could tell your magic was harmless."

In disbelief, Ranma-chan recounted incidents that plagued her life in Nerima. (This took some time.) Dismissingly, Kodachi explained the circumstances weren't threatening enough to demand her attention: "No one died or used death magic. When I'm not hunting I can't even remember I have this power, and my relic reacts most selectively. I've only been called on twice, both before we met."

As if sensing the discussion, the bracelet began flickering, sending spheres of light around the room. Several touched Kodachi herself, but were turned away by answering pulses of darkness.

"Whatever is controlling my normal self is beginning to reassert itself. I'm sorry Ranma-sama, but I'll soon be trying to kill you again."

"Not if I can help it! White Snake Reliable Fist revised: Sweet Steady Chestnuts Bringing Illumination!" Striking with Amaguriken speed, Ranma attempted to vanquish what held Kodachi.

In under a second, the girl's entire body was bathed in purification. Using her well-earned ki mastery, Ranma saw the enemy hiding inside a blemish on Kodachi's aura that shouldn't exist. This unknown stain could not be cleansed, and ignored the energies brought against it.

"No use Ramna-sama, devil hunters like me are sanctified against direct possession by our artifacts. I only know an insidious non-magical attack opened a hole in my protection. Whatever torments me dwells in and is shielded by this hole."

Rallying against defeat, Ranma swore an oath: "Whatever happens Kodachi, I promise you I'll free you of this, by the honor of my soul."

Staring with infinite gratefulness, Kodachi spoke strongly with tears running down her cheeks: "Listen carefully, my hope, before it is too late."

Hugging the Devil Hunter, unmindful of her own semi-nudity, Ranma rubbed Kodachi's back and paid careful attention.

"If you fight too closely against the minions of the Abyss, you must take care not to become like them. No demon hunter escapes such a trap, which is why our society does not regard us great respect. It is why I am treacherous for fighting in all fairness." She laughed, not her usual, but almost like wracking sobs.

"Ranma-sama already I feel that which holds me in abeyance re-establishing itself. Remember my love: when carrying fights into the endless dark, avoid taking wounds. When you visit the Abyss, it visits you. In fighting too long, you match the enemy's methods. In whole reality, even darkness has a place. Be careful my love, see through the Illusions of the Abyss. I did not."

With a whimper, Kodachi clutched her head and began breathing erratically. The artifact granting her transformation unclasped, and fell softly on the floor. The girl reverted to her previous state of undress, her costume disappearing.

Hovering by the gymnast's side, Ranma gently whispered her name, with awed understanding.

Time passed.

The Black Rose opened her eyes, and saw the hated red-haired girl's exposed pubis. "Harridan!" She screeched, jumping up from her bed and wincing at an intimate rug burn, "Have you stolen my virtue within my own chambers? Have at thee!"

Mentally slapping herself for missing that little detail, Ranma grabbed her clothing and escaped with the Umi-sen-ken. This newest promise demanded immediate action.

But how?

----

next: "337 Split Ends"


	7. moments6

"337 Split Ends"

Not ready for magic, Ranma grew closer to that stage. He couldn't become physically better, and thought he had nearly perfected ki-control. Aside from new, unknown techniques, his advancement in The Art had dead-ended.

He brought this dilemma to the best thinker he understood the motivations of.

---

"The short numerical name for that variation on the sex act is sixty-eight dot two Nabiki." The middle Tendo nodded graciously, apparently Ranma shared her hidden perverted depths. Maybe he'd been reading her manga?

"Now here's a tough one. Put yourself in my place; refusing this constitutes a default on our game. Years after you've arrived in Nerima, you've mastered the repertoire of the Old Freak, can go to a standstill with the Old Ghoul, and are stuck at a plateau in your abilities. You want to become better in the Martial Arts without messing with magic. . . . . how? You may ask questions for clarification."

Silently thinking for a time, Nabiki mused, "Hmm. Interesting Saotome. Knowing how spineless you are with women, I assume you haven't married, possibly have more fiancées, and are still a virgin?"

Looking ashamed, Ranma nodded.

"Have 'I' also mastered the lesser techniques of the local gang of home wreckers, like Ryouga's way of turning cloth sharp, the Breaking Point, the Shark Fist, Mousse's hidden weapons, and Shampoo's memory altering techniques?"

Slowly nodding, Ranma realized much remained to learn.

Taking the nod for assent, Nabiki continued, "Ok then, obviously 'I' need to branch out into weapons and technology. If a random gaijin with a gun could kill me, 'I'm' not much of an artist of war. Which isn't to say 'I' should neglect training with older, more traditional weapons. Anything Goes, right?"

Smiling, Ranma beheld dozens of new horizons.

Like a rogue wolf detecting weakness, Nabiki went for the kill: "My turn. Saotome, please explain to me how Martial Arts and Marital Arts are identical. Diagrams and demonstrations are acceptable." Seductive and daring, Nabiki emphasized her words by sliding off the sleeve of her shirt, exposing her naked shoulder.

With a strangled "Ok 'biki you win gotta go!" Ranma was outta there.

Laughing, the mercenary Tendo switched off her tape recorder, and wondered what Ranma would be like if he grew balls.

----

"Bakusai Tenketsu!" One week to learn, and painful. Though he lacked Ryoga's toughness from the boulder-build-up training, constructing a protective-ki shield against the debris came naturally.

----

"Yuck!" Ranma doubted his unconscious father ever washed the gray bandana hiding his baldness. Cleansing it with a rapid application of hot and cold ki, Kasumi's startled squeal shocked him.

Appearing beside him with bright starry eyes, the eldest Tendo invaded his personal space, placing her hands on his shoulders and gazing piercingly into his face. "Ranma-san," she said in a serious tone, "if you want me to continue cooking meals, you're teaching me that!"

Not used the calm home-maker's closeness, Ranma stuttered "Er, Um, Ok Kasumi, ask me tomorrow morning and we'll start."

Releasing him with a sincere "Thank you very much!" Kasumi bowed deeply and returned to her kitchen, imagining chores ending instantly with puffs of energy.

Mastering the Iron-Cloth technique took two hours, compared to his greater ki-blasts, 'twas child's play.

----

"HA!"

A huge shark-like wave of water and koi knocked her father out in mid-leap.

'Easy; just like the Buzzing Fist with air, or the Stationary Grapple with stone.'

Feeling a lightness on her head, Ranma noticed the koi she usually woke under had fainted and slipped off.

"Hmmm. . . . ." Mischievously, she snuck in the house, stopped Kasumi from her usual duty, and knocked on Nabiki's door.

"Mxlkjdsf!" Stated a tired mumble from the other side. Bedding rustled.

Knocking again, an annoyed voice accompanied by dressing sounds replied, "This better be good -- who is it and what do you want?" Kasumi left after the first knock.

In the same sugary voice she used to con food vendors out of sweets, Ranma-chan giggled "Dojo Shark, Tee Hee!"

Perpetually undone by her own curiosity, Nabiki opened her bedroom door.

"HA!"

Smiling at how the Shark Fist adapted to any surface, Ranma enjoyed the sight of her friend laid out and surprised.

Rising from a tangle of boards and tatami, Nabiki looked out her new window where a wall used to be. Cheerily, sunlight shone upon her messed up morning hair. This was his wedding revenge?

Faint snoring sounded nearby. How did Akane sleep with her window open like that?

"You realize you're paying for this Saotome?" The accusation was heatedly whispered.

Nodding happily Ranma beamed "Nabiki's room. . . . 100,000 yen. . . . . the look on her face. . . . priceless!"

"Alright then." Nabiki said in a quiet voice. "Let's hurry before Kasumi wakes Akane!"

Ranma wasn't worried; the tomboy only woke up from Kasumi's cheerful voice, or his name shouted with lust or extreme anger. By now, he had a huge branching mental flow-chart, mapping events precisely.

Carefully opening the door, which still had a little yellow duck with her sister's nameplate, Nabiki glanced inside her sibling's room, checking her sister wasn't naked or something.

Instead, Akane sprawled inelegantly across her bedding, like she had won a fight with her blanket. Glancing in, Ranma thought she looked adorable.

"Oh little sister?" Nabiki's spot-on Kasumi imitation roused Akane from the depths of slumber, and she rubbed her eyes. Making eye contact with her partner in crime, Nabiki nodded.

"HA!"

Akane greeted the morning with a merry fanfare:

"IEeeeeeeEEEE! Ranma. . . . and NA-Biki!"

Crumbled flooring halted the youngest Tendo's berserk lunge as she tripped into a botched forward roll. When she recovered, the perpetrators had escaped. 'My own sister! Just wait until I get to her room!'

Akane's frustrated scream upon learning she'd been pre-empted in revenge shook the foundations of the Tendo House.

-----

Having led him on a mad chase into a nearby empty lot, the red-head turned and waited for the idiot's arrival.

To help them start, she added "Aiyah, stupid duck-boy never defeat Ranma!" Ranma-chan wore one of Shampoo's dresses (left behind after splash of water), the reason Mousse followed blindly.

Enraged at his nemesis, the hidden weapons master yelled for the twenty-sixth day in row "Saotome! Prepare to die for your crimes against Xian Pu!"

A barrage of chains and other weapons shot at Ranma, and Mousse didn't notice they vanished as fast as they appeared.

Around an hour later, an unconscious duck quack-groaned under fifty pounds of twisted metal and wood. 'This pile of broken garbage used to be fine Amazon weapons, but the duck was never really a man.' Such thoughts cheered Ranma, as she walked away whistling. Longer than expected; if the blind boy bothered using the ki required in a useful way, he'd be a decent sparring partner.

Hidden weapons handicapped a fighter by tying their ki in rigid patterns. Maybe that was why only male Amazons 'mastered' it. Hiding a small amount, like a change of clothes, or two maces and a sword was worth the power sacrifice.

-----

"A-heh, heh!" Blushed Shampoo, "Why you want that technique Ranma?"

He'd never gotten this response from Shampoo before. Why was she blushing? This was the Shampoo who enjoyed sneaking naked into his bath, and kept putting his hands on her sensitive places. What was she thinking?

--Flashback--

A nude Shampoo is bathing in a mountain stream in the wilds of China. She hears a thud and a moan, and is startled, glancing around.

Making a dagger appear in her hands, she slinks over to the sound's source.

She sees the hated red-haired girl, passed out with a nosebleed and her left hand down her pants. Announcing, "Ranma, you I kill!" Shampoo drives the dagger right at the red head's throat....

Only to have her oblivious enemy roll sideways.

Undeterred, the naked Amazon continues attacking. Around the tenth stab, the unconscious redhead bumps her after dodging, forcing a loss of balance. Windmilling madly, Shampoo slides into a full split, and feels intimately uncomfortable.

Now really upset, Shampoo removes the sleeping girl's sticky left hand from between her legs, and tosses the dagger away in disgust. Considering where the girl's nasty fingers were before, she shudders in revulsion.

Pulling out a bottle labeled 862, Shampoo snarls in her native tongue, "I might not be able to kill you now, but you won't get more satisfaction from me!"

As it is not a known attack, the sleeping girl doesn't dodge.

Hearing the older man she's seen with the kissed-to-die girl, Shampoo quickly retreats to the stream. She washes herself vigorously and dresses.

Seeing a panda escape with her slumbering enemy, she yells with renewed enthusiasm "Ranma, you I kill!" and chases after.

--end FB--

"Airen, there is reason Shampoo tell you only she can make you truly happy!"

With an unusually perceptive deduction, catching Cologne's attention, Ranma returned, "If this reason exists Shampoo, why haven't you used it before?"

Sounding sad, Shampoo spoke: "Xi Fa Xiang Gao Shiatsu technique is not only useful as a weapon Ranma. Shampoo use it on self when hunt for girl-type Ranma after first meeting. Not want to remember or feel things in way of kiss of death. After Phoenix Mountain, Shampoo not sure if she has any magic on her from bird peoples, so she use formula 337, Universal Nullifier. Not realize 337 erase other formulas from Xi Fa Xiang Gao." Making an effort, the young Amazon girl said slowly, "I remembered experiences I am not proud of, but to be with you, my love, I will do anything."

Appearing beside them, Cologne asked gently, "Great-grand daughter, did you remember your mother's death?"

Bowing her head, Shampoo answered in Mandarin. "Yes, great-grandmother. I also remember the Love Me Most technique, why girl-type Ranma doesn't know the true joys of womanhood, and the elder's council after I returned in disgrace from Japan."

Completely aware of Ranma's comprehension of the language, Cologne inquired, "Now that you know no punishment will come from failing to marry Ranma, and remember what destroyed poor Mu Tsu, what do you plan?"

Still in Mandarin, the girl sounded unhappy with her answer, "The Love Me Most technique is a terrible weapon, I will never use it frivolously, and will only unseal it to save another's life. This I swear a warrior's oath upon. I do not know what to do about Ranma. I am in love, but I wish him his own happiness, perhaps that is what love really is?"

Returning to Japanese, the withered elder cackled "Wisdom never warms your bed child! Did you realize 862 carries over between curses with Jusenkyo victims?"

No she hadn't.

"Aiyah!" Exclaimed Shampoo happily, "Ranma, Shampoo teach you antidote for Xi Fa Xiang Gao Shiatsu technique, only if we bathe together, and you spend the entire day afterwards with Shampoo! Will be lots of fun!"

Shuddering, Ranma slowly backed away; Shampoo's smile and aura looked remarkably like Happosai's when he fondled lingerie.

This information – he needed to think about it. The last words he heard upon escaping the Cat Café especially disturbed him: "Not running after him great-grand-daughter?" "No hiba-chan, if Ranma ever want to really be man, he come with Shampoo." Disturbing laughter followed him into the street.

-----

The reactions to his little problem amused, surprised, and angered him. He swore each to secrecy before revealing the droopy, dreary details.

"Ranma no Hentai!" Akane embedded him in the wall with a nearby barbell. Really, he should have known better.

"Your problem isn't magical in nature." Diagnosed Devil Hunter Kodachi. "I might circumvent it with magic; would you like me to try?" Wanting an absolute solution, Ranma declined.

"My son, the best way to solve this problem, is sleeping with lots of women. Now make me proud!" Nodoka's worldview puzzled him, but he loved his mother. Eventually, Ranma resolved to drag the story of how his parents met out of the old panda.

"Well it certainly explains a lot." Ukyo sounded wise and vaguely vindicated. "I really want to help Ranchan!" Gently removing the chef's exploring hands, Ranma decided to try someone without an agenda involving him.

Distraught, Kasumi hugged Ranma. They were alone together in her room, which had been difficult to arrange. "Why, I don't know what I'd do if I suddenly couldn't! Both your forms?"

Ranma nodded miserably. She was a girl; it made Kasumi feel easier about this.

"Would you like my help? I won't actually touch you, but I think I might have a solution to your problem."

"With anyone else, I'd refuse, but I trust you Kasumi. Tell me what to do."

"Okay, this might feel odd at first, but please lie on my bed, take off your clothing, and close your eyes."

Before following the older girl's instructions, Ranma locked the door and closed the curtains. She positioned herself with her legs apart, feeling very exposed.

"Don't worry about hygiene, I wash this every morning before I bathe." Kasumi's reassurance wasn't, as Ranma heard a loud vibrating noise.

-

Thirty minutes later: "I'm sorry Ranma, your physical reactions are completely normal, are you sure you didn't feel anything special?"

"No Kasumi, just a tingling sensation, sort of like a nerve lock wearing off, though this one never does. Touching my chest feels better than that, but doesn't let me, um, you know."

"Well, I tried. Please wipe with this towel, dress, and give me some privacy for a bit. Helping you has been, um, frustrating for me."

Doing as instructed, and noting the damp spot on the older Tendo's dress, Ranma thanked Kasumi and left. If marriage meant merely trust, he'd marry Kasumi in a heartbeat. She was the understanding elder sister he'd always wished for.

His female side was out of bounds, but what about as a guy?

-

Soun slipped him a large amount of yen. "I understand son." He commiserated, "Visit Wakari street in Adaku; the building with seven plum vines painted on the mailbox, and ask for the 'special treatment.' Don't let Akane find out either." His disbelief must have been plain, because Soun added, "The schools can't be joined until this is solved, and I'd prefer my little girl have an experienced first partner."

Ranma went, but the woman answering the door must have been sixty years old! He stammered a lame excuse and left. Embarrassed beyond words, he thought 'Why buy what I should get free?'

---

Wow, it made him somewhat sick his mother encouraged this plan.

Interrupting Kasumi's dinner o' beef bowl, Nodoka spoke haughtily: "I have decided after the events following the wedding which wasn't, Ranma isn't manly. This distressing matter came fully into my attention this afternoon. Unless my son shows me the bloody sheets by midnight, I judge him worthy only of swift end."

Tearfully, Akane volunteered, right on cue.

His worries about rising to the occasion fled, when his hypocritical tomboy put on a strip act. Sure, he promised marriage later, but tonight had no deeper meaning than an experiment.

He hit her sleep point three minutes in. Akane took to the sex act with the same concentration she reserved for cooking. She utterly ignored the world, and used what she thought to be the method exemplar.

Feeling bruised, contused (her bloody nail marks covered his back), and violated, Ranma left the room. He limped the sheets over to his mother, and retired. The only blood on them was his.

'Intimacy' with Akane felt like getting a knee to the balls. (She had managed that twice.) Why had he promised himself she would be his first?

----

Ranma suspected his problem to be a Xi Fa Xiang Gao formula, and speculated others suffered holes in their minds.

How to learn the technique without bedding an Amazon?

----

"But Airen, we both know you better than Shampoo. That is why Shampoo hunt you to ends of Earth!"

Challenging the Amazon for the technique had been a bust.

"What about if I fought your great-grandmother instead?"

Cackles answered his question: "Sonny-boy this is too fun for me to be involved! I decline." Perfectly balanced on her staff, the old matriarch watched his futile struggle with amusement.

"Aiyah Airen, Shampoo feel unloved right now! Best way to learn technique is make Shampoo feel special." Stepping away, the bouncy girl wiggled her behind suggestively.

"Well what about if I gave ya a handicap?" The stress of the situation brought out an older speech pattern.

"A fine idea son-in-law! In fact I have just the thing: with your consent, Shampoo will use Xi Fa Xiang Gao Shiatsu on you, taking away your knowledge of martial arts, little by little. Multiple exposures will teach -you -(an emphasis on the word, as if no else could learn it that way) Xi Fa Xiang Gao Shiatsu. After you no longer have Musubetsu Kakuto Ryuu, you'll fight Shampoo. If you win, she'll give you the antidote and you'll know the technique. If she wins, my heir gets a wonderful husband, and you will come willingly."

"Let me think." Ranma dropped lotus-style onto the floor.

Time passed. Shampoo came over and sat upon his crossed legs, bringing their crotches into alignment; if not for clothing, they would be joined. She wrapped her arms around him, and squeezed.

Miraculously, they went undisturbed: Akane attended school, Ukyo remained sequestered at the Ucchan's, and Mousse lay unconscious under a broken pile of hidden weapons in an abandoned lot.

Snuggling closer, molding herself on him, Shampoo appeared content.

Distracted, Ranma rose to his feet, almost dislodging the grabby Amazon. Detachedly, he noticed his body's reaction to Shampoo's ministrations, and shoved her off.

"I accept, provided you swear oaths no other tricks will be involved."

Bowing solemnly, the Amazon contingent swore.

Shampoo could perform Xi Fa Xiang Gao successfully in about five seconds. It took over an hour before their fight began in back of the Cat Café, officiated by Cologne.

Seeking a quick end, the Amazon struck with a blindingly fast combo, only to have Ranma dodge.

He retaliated with three clumsy punches she easily sidestepped and turned into a throw, only to watch in amazement as he flipped onto his feet from mid-air.

Upon hearing Cologne's laughter, Shampoo realized her Airen's reflexes weren't disabled, despite his mental handicap. She had wanted to use other formulas too, but a promise was a promise.

Satisfied with her brilliant reasoning, Shampoo almost failed to dodge when Ranma clasped his hands together in a gun-like shape, and shot a murky brown ki-bullet at her.

The matriarch on the sidelines smiled; Ranma didn't consider guns to be worthy of 'martial arts,' and had developed the trick with unusual foresight. She could tell the emotion used was frustrated confusion.

As the best of her village's age bracket, Shampoo felt respect and a little awe for her Airen. But no amount of dodging or untrained skill could stop a martial artist of her caliber.

Shampoo would never know how close she came to defeat: Ranma had halfway finished the Chilling Lips of Death. His brain labeled the technique under the headings of 'sex' and 'desperation defense: female disablement.' He jumped the foot sweep and flowed around a spinning crescent kick while airborne, but his position after the dodged bonbouri jab left him completely open. Shampoo's precision karate chop hit his carotid artery, ending the battle.

Dodging didn't matter if your opponent thought five moves ahead, cutting off the avenues of escape.

The plane for China left that evening, with a quiet celebration.

----

Awakening with her koi, Ranma remembered, and blushed. She swiftly exited the pond, switching gender.

Engaging his father in an exhaustive sparring session, Ranma dragged the panda back from the breakfast table twice. His skills regained, he now understood Xi Fa Xiang Gao Shiatsu enough to selectively remove a person's ability. He didn't know the accepted antidote(s) or formulas, or the risks of mixing potions. An antidote for his condition was applied during his unconsciousness.

He clearly remembered Shampoo's successful seduction. Enjoying the experience in both forms, Ranma now had those feelings to sort. His mind screamed betrayal: 'Traitors! I'll never marry an Amazon now!' Despite his rage, Ranma acknowledged his bodies wanted Shampoo's glory again. He didn't know what to do.

----

"Saotome, that'll be 20,000 yen." The local expert on betrayal wasn't cheap, especially when you bought discretion.

Nabiki learned everything, and helped. Her outraged sympathy comforted him; the mercenary girl honestly believed some areas were off limits.

----

"So the formula for memories is 110, for sexual response is 862, and the universal nullifier is 337?" Ranma looked through Shampoo's dresser with interest; dozens of formulas were jumbled together next to anti-pervert ofuda and her clean panties. The garments had anti-demon charms sewn expertly on them in silver thread.

"Yes, my love. Would you like me to demonstrate the antidote again, before we leave for China tomorrow?" The naked Amazon spoke slowly, in perfect Japanese.

"Sure, but on who?"

"Stick-boy, Crazy-girl, Violent-Girl, and Pig-boy all under Xi Fa Xiang Gao. Try using on Chef too, but ki application no work right. Chef just thank for refreshing beauty treatment, say it good for split ends."

"On second thought, Shampoo stay with me for now." Obviously he needed to learn the effects of everything to master the technique -- it could take weeks!

Upon seeing her husbands spaced out smile while he looked her over, the Amazon relaxed and closed her eyes.

Finding herself as cat in the mail to Murray's Snack Shop, (c/o Taiwan Cuisine) thirty minutes later came as a complete surprise.

--

After using 337 on herself the next morning, Ranma spent five minutes preening in the mirror. Formula three hundred thirty seven did do wonders for split ends!

-----

Two months later, when Ranma had completely mastered the formulas of Shampoo's techniques, he felt saddened. He had further improved Xi Fa Xiang Gao until he no longer needed the formulas. Massaging someone's head allowed him to alter memories, skills, and physical responses. It took between five seconds and twenty minutes, depending on the desired response.

Self-deception failed, since he now practiced with acceptance as his primary ki-focus. While embracing zazen, Ranma begrudgingly admitted he didn't want to stop sleeping with Shampoo. He felt infatuation without trust. He felt betrayal and lust. He felt himself falling in love for the wrong reasons.

To prevent this, he needed to stop himself, and it meant leaving the Xi Fa Xiang Gao manipulation interfering with his sex drive alone. Releasing a year of passion made his body uncontrollable, and Ranma couldn't 'ride it out' since the barrier and feelings bottled inside returned tomorrow.

Hiding in Ukyo's embrace was futile. His best friend didn't feel dangerous or half-way forbidden, and wasn't nearly that intense. She felt safe and comforting. Ucchan only awkwardly slept with Ranma as a girl right now, a pale substitute for Shampoo's wildness.

With his perfection of the techniques, Ranma wanted to know what everyone didn't remember.

----

"Kami-sama!" Screamed Akane in murderous rage. "Ryouga is P-chan!"

Holding Akane while she broke down, Ranma could feel only contempt for Shampoo.

"Ranma this is all Shampoo's fault! I'm sorry! All this time, when you and Ryouga were telling me the truth, I tuned it out completely."

Those words, he never expected them out of Akane's mouth. 'Good thing she doesn't quite remember Ryouga's real conversations with me. The pig'd bacon for sure then!'

----

"Zounds! It seems the might Blue Thunder did lose in battle; how could this be? Saotome isn't really a sorcerer?"

"Does this mean you finally realize I have a curse, and there is no pig-tailed girl?" Ranma-chan's hope illuminated her face.

"Don't be ridiculous my love. Obviously that foul hypnotist Saotome sent whatever tampered with my memories. He might not be a sorcerer, but the only way for me to lose is bewitchment! I will not allow it! Now, with my weakness acknowledged, I can learn from my mistakes and free you from his clutches at last!"

Sighing, Ranma left the ranting Kuno behind; Shampoo had obviously over-estimated his intelligence when she covered all the bases.

----

"I remember now... Ranma-sama get out of the way!"

A black mist rose from Kodachi's body, primarily from her head, and coalesced into a cloud of mouths, teeth, and eyes.

"By the nine spokes of heaven, grant me skill to overcome the corruption of eternity!"

With a flash, the Devil Hunter stood triumphant, and summoned her weapon, prey in sight.

"Sharp Edge of Nirvana!" Ranma threw hundreds of tendrils of ki at the demon, each different in emotion, intensity, power, and size. The thing belched forth a black wall of infernal power, which absorbed most of the attack. Those threads not affected, passed straight though the creature, destroying a wall of Kodachi's bedroom.

"Brute force won't banish a Sanity Drinker, please stay clear Ranma!" Kodachi's clipped tone bespoke intense concentration.

As the demon turned its attention back onto the Devil Hunter, she struck. Her blade glowing sky blue, she slashed the air around the thing into a seal. The constraint flew together with a thundering reverberation. The cloud of fangs spat black darkness from twenty mouths in answer, but the counter merely sizzled against the binding's structure before fading into a brimstone stench.

The seal quickly encircled the mouths and teeth, holding them tightly, while dozens of mismatched eyes glared malevolently at the prison. Dark cracks appeared in the bindings.

"By the silvery storms of righteous, I banish thee from this existence. Return to thy own aspect!"

As the constraining ward disintegrated, Kodachi cleaved the entity in two, and the smaller half vanished with a belch of brimstone smoke.

The larger remainder, now the size of a dog, staggered backwards under a beam of stark white serene ki. Startled, Ranma noticed the edge of his attack had turned gray, the corruption spreading back up the beam. He jumped away, releasing the attack, and watched an ethereal mouth snap shut over where he had stood.

With another glowing slash, the Devil Hunter banished more of the creature. The remainder of the entity collapsed into a small smoky balloon, and shot through the roof into the sky. It veered crazily, avoiding the yellow sacred lighting flying from Kodachi's bracelet. Then it disappeared.

"Normally demons like that are no bigger than a mouse." The gymnast's voice became conversational as she switched back. "It held me for months, growing off my psyche. It must be destroyed before it splits; the ripening could infect dozens, maybe even hundreds!"

"Does this mean you no longer want to marry me Kodachi?" Not even he recognized the emotions in his voice -- hope, relief, accomplishment, and respect.

"Ranma-sama, all I wanted was cheap, mindless sex with you after five romantic dates." Kodachi sighed. "Devil hunters can't marry or have steady boyfriends until their calling leaves them, lest their dear ones come in the crossfire. I, for one, refuse to die a virgin, and I have your mother's permission."

"So what did you remember anyway?"

"Everything about magic transformations was hidden from me. That my relic didn't choose another is a small miracle."

"If we had the chance to redo that battle, what would you have me do different?"

"I don't suppose you know magic aside from changing gender?"

"No, it started as a curse, really."

"Unless you can learn some minor spells of purification and holding, you aren't useful except as a distraction. Life energy can't harm a Sanity Drinker; they can only be hurt by magi, weapons of power, or crushing will."

"What now for you?"

"I must regain my life; these last months I haven't been myself. If it is not too much to ask, I would like to remain with you the rest of this day. You are a pleasant anchor."

Nodding, Ranma took Kodachi's hand, and they walked together, out of the devastation.

--

When confronted about 'granting permission' Nodoka smiled crookedly and laughed, holding the back of her head.

'Wow, that stupid looking nervous gesture must be genetic!' Kodachi's thoughtful revelation passed by unnoticed.

-----

A swirling ball of purple and pink ki hovered in front of Happosai. "Very well Master Ranma, we may continue this challenge if you like."

-----

"Yes son-in-law, if you can defeat me, you will be admitted as an honorary Amazon of my house. Then if you so choose, Shampoo's claim on you will be invalid, with no loss of face for either of you."

-----

An impulsive decision, but it felt right. The self-application of Xi Fa Xiang Gao Shiatsu, variation 337, was a blessing and a problem. A must on his wedding night, but before then . . . . forbidden! 'I must have a reason for sealing the technique, but I can't remember. Gotta trust myself.' Ranma felt a tingling sensation near his waist when thinking about Shampoo, but paid it no attention.

'Uncured,' Ranma Saotome began an intricate kata under zazen... the Old Ghoul's artifact had easily won her the fight, and the perv could use telekinesis with ki. Why at this rate, he'd never get around finishing his hardest training exercise: the single-handed hostile takeover of the American military base. The Amaguriken could only block the bullets from two guns at once right now, and that was with intuitive ki-deflection. . . . . .

---

Next: "Battling and Becoming"

---

--Xi Fa Xiang Gao Shiatsu and Xia Fang Gao Shiatsu are the two spellings I have seen. In the manga it is 114/411 with antidote 119/911 depending on how you read it. The anime uses 110, which I adopted for simplicity.

--hiba-chan means grandmother


	8. moments7

(akuma means devil or demon)

"Battling and Becoming"

Flying, he felt an unbridled wonder inside his heart. After developing advanced ki techniques using high-level geometry, he had speculated what hidden knowledge lurked inside the collected science of man.

His father's mastery of vacuum came in part because the stupid old man used gluttony as an emotional ki focus. Using his own focus of serenity and self-acceptance he could easily reproduce multitudes of ki-vacuums. Then he had read how airplanes flew, essentially surfing through the air on a cushion of turbulent pressure difference, or riding an imperfect speed-created vacuum.

Jumping off the top of Mount Fuji running at top speed had been a huge next step.

After maintaining her (mountain's snowcap) altitude for five minutes, Ranma noticed a beyond pleasant feeling across her chest. Swiftly reversing her gender, he realized the physics books hadn't been kidding about the vibrations from air pressure.

Now, zooming across the country of his birth held by merely a pressure wave of his own will, Ranma wondered at his next step. When he accomplished a goal, it seemed another appeared as a natural continuation of the path.

In strange epiphany, he understood though flying was amazing, landing would really suck.

----

"Musubetsu Kakuto Ryu imitating Toma's Sword of Illusion. This is between you and me Matriarch, and they would have interfered." Nodding toward the unconscious forms of Shampoo and Mousse, Ranma readied himself to face Cologne, who had earned his respect over dozens of similar battles. She had resisted the technique by using ki-vision.

He met her Buzzing Fist with his own, and the semi-solid compressed air harmed neither. When the old one bared her teeth, like, well, a ghoul, and split the Artifact known as the Pearl of Madness, he deafened his ears. The first time, it had shattered his eardrums and lost him the fight.

Yelling an attack from his inner heart, one based on love, freedom and disappointments, he sent out a grayish-red cutting ki-vortex with the trigger phrase "Akane No BAKA!" It left a crater in the street a hundred feet deep, but Kuh Lon had taken to the air.

He met her there, and only her speed, faster than his own locked level, kept her in the fight.

With a burst of white ki, he summoned his aura of serenity, and was matched by a deeper version of the Soul of Ice than he cared to learn.

The old woman sent thousands of chilling ki pinpoints at him, each with enough power to leave his skin frostbitten and unresponsive. Using Happosai's projection technique, he called forth the surface that was a plane, twice as large as himself, but paper thin, and pointed the Klein Bottle's nozzle back at the ancient woman.

Each of her ki-dots hit the surface of his shield, and traveled up to the mouth of the Klein bottle, where they collected until the onslaught halted. A brief instant of concentration, and he redirected chilling ki in a freezing beam. Kuh Lon dodged, leaving a nearby storefront encased in inches of ice.

Perhaps thinking to best him with power, the Matriarch drew heavily into the ki-focus that was her staff, and sent a small blue-green ovoid at him. He knew if it touched him, it would invade his skin, squeezing his heart until he screamed out submission. The magnitude of focused ki it contained could survive even his attempts at dispersing it.

He threw an unnamed counter, and his ki-torus shredded the blast before it came halfway. He sighed in relief. . . . . finally the rotation was right to disrupt her careful redundant structure.

When Cologne pulled out a strange wand-like Artifact he had never seen, he simultaneously left a Splitting Cat Hair's Image behind, while sneaking around her in the Way of the Silent Thief.

As she blasted his image away with a black lightning-like beam, he nailed his honored opponent's sleep spot with the strongest inverted ki pulse he could make.

He faded back into sight in shock, looking at her slumbering form. A passerby might think he'd beaten up a helpless old grandmother, but for the first time, Ranma had bested Matriarch Cologne of Joketsuzoku.

Years had passed inside limbo. He stopped counting a while ago.

----

"Let's go over this again, Tate-chan," said the pig-tailed girl.

Looking up from his straightjacket across the room, Kuno repeated the words and watched the explanation for the tenth time. Even with his memories back, the stubborn delusional jerk refused the truth.

"Your name is Ranma Saotome. His name is Ranma Saotome." Obligingly, Ranma switched genders.

Tiredly, Kuno continued: "He fell into a spring which forced your body upon him, but now you have control over which body you occupy." He changed to a she in mid-nod.

"You are the same person. You like girls only, no matter which body you're in. No sorcery, no soul-switching; nothing like that." Still Kuno's disbelief showed.

Pain would not dissuade Kuno, so Ranma resorted to careful logic and demonstration.

"You are in denial." Ranma (female) said flatly.

"I am not in denial! Such travesty, such lies!" Kuno began his typical rant.

"You are denying you are in denial." Ranma (male) said understandingly.

"Twisted words, do not a truth make!" Yelled Kuno back.

"Then if you're not denying you are in denial, you accept the truth?" Ranma (female) pouted cutely.

"No, never shall I accept such a horrid truth, for it would mean my love would be lost forever more. Release my pig-tailed girl, Ranma Saotome, or face my wrath!"

"Then you're in denial." Stated Ranma (male) flatly, knowing this could take hours.

Kuno began ranting again, for variety; Ranma (female) spoke the words with him. Occasionally it actually caused him to stop talking and listen.

Much, much later, the Kuno problem remained unsolved, but Ranma had one untested idea. While an interesting distraction, Kuno's ignorance held nothing to improving in his art.

----

Sighing in contentment, Ranma disabled the last soldier with an invisible pulse of ki to the back of his head. After finishing Sun-Tzu and the Book of Five Rings, he knew how to think like his enemy and choose the right ground.

Moving faster than human perceptions, and creating a vacuum cone that redirected bullets away from his body meant 'Assault of the American Military Base': Mission Accomplished. The grenades could be diffused with a bubble of crushing ki, so they imploded rather than exploded. Flamethrowers meet Soul of Ice. Sure they had other weapons, but such large bulky things couldn't be armed quickly enough.

This exercise had taught him how to disable quickly and efficiently. It showed how strategy and surprise won over superior force. He'd even figured out to make ki blasts invisible.

Helping himself to a sheaf of top-secret documents, Ranma happily thumbed the incompressible English pages, verifying he couldn't read them.

Leaving them lying in a pool of papers, he walked out merrily, mentally sticking his tongue out at Nabiki.

She had told him: "Only a moron takes down a military base just because he can, and doesn't even raid their secrets."

-----

Expecting the emergence of a horror beyond mortal ken, Ranma shouted out his oft practiced (and hopefully perfected) solution: "Soul Cleansing Demon Vortex!"

The attack caught the evil thing as it emerged from Kodachi's body. Based on crushing willpower, the rotating gray cone held the entity immobile while the demon huntress transformed.

Flinching from the emulsions of infernal power directed at his prison, Ranma firmed his concentration and drew upon ambient energies for reinforcement. Carefully, he lowered the cone's edge, so the demon hunter could swing directly into the creature's core.

This mistake allowed Ranma to notice the entity had taken the shape of a nine headed lion with impossibly long fangs and dead black eyes. While he no longer feared cats, seeing the unexpected nightmare disrupted his concentration, and therefore his ki-prison.

The gray ki-cone rapidly dissolved, but Kodachi's attack trisected the malevolent demon, banishing most of it. Enough remained to impale Ranma's left shoulder with a dark claw of corruption, matching his inhuman speed when he attempted the dodge.

Invoking her relic, Kodachi swiftly cleansed the remaining evil. She knew banishment the hard way hurt such Things. Nothing could truly kill them, but that creature would be diminished for centuries.

Watching Ranma attempt to realign his aura and fail, Kodachi drew upon the strongest of her bracelet's powers and zapped him with holy yellow lightning.

"That hurt you know." Stated the frazzled martial artist in a deadpan voice.

"Dealing with demons is a filthy business; you are lucky to be alive Ranma-sama."

Grumbling at her, Ranma thought maybe he could use a little nap and laid back on the scorched, torn up floor. The Soul Cleansing Demon Vortex took a lot out of person...

Waking up in Kodachi's arms hours later, Ranma thought he must be having a dream, since she hadn't tried anything outrageous. She sleepily muttered something about auras and spells, but he shifted and returned to sleep.

---

Upon waking in the pond, Ranma noticed the koi abandoned her head, and the fish put as much space between her body and theirs as the pond allowed. This so startled her that Genma managed a successful uppercut, something he hadn't done for years.

Meaning to swiftly end the fight, Ranma tossed out a ki wave, and watched in distress as it appeared with undulating dark malevolence.

It took Genma out, but it also demolished the top half of the stone wall encircling the Tendo compound. The shockwave woke everyone in the house, and they poured outside, flocking like lemmings to a sea of troubles.

"Stay back!" Ranma's confident tone hid her inner panic so successfully that no one paid any attention as she stepped out of the pond.

"Baka!" The thrown dumbbell seemed to warp space as it contorted into a pretzel and passed to the side of Ranma's head. The ki-defense flickered with black, and Ranma's aura pulsed ominously. Since she had claimed the furo, Akane neither noticed nor cared, trusting her aim.

Appearing briefly, Happosai took the situation in a glance, and fled. He'd lived so long by carefully picking his fights, and this wasn't one of them.

"Was that really necessary son? I know your dad has his moments, but that wall has stood for generations!" Soun's waterworks turned on, and the koi didn't mind.

"You realize this little debacle goes onto your debt Saotome?" Nabiki inflated the expenses by 150 for violently waking her.

Locked in an inner struggle she didn't really understand, Ranma totally ignored her surroundings. Blocking the barbell had been reflexive, not a conscious decision.

"Father, Nabiki, it might be a good idea to give Ranma his space for now." Kasumi gently prodded her family members away, having noticed how the grass underneath Ranma's feet had shriveled and died. Her skin crawling, the eldest Tendo hustled her family back into their home.

Calling forth her aura, Ranma summoned serenity and found evil waiting. As the battle started, her left shoulder blistered and began to bleed.

-

Cologne paused while serving the morning rush. Her great-grand daughter turned and questioned the behavior. Shaking her head sadly, the old woman declared, "Much evil this way comes."

"Too many bean jam buns last night?" Inquired Mousse.

As the ashtray found its mark on the moron's head, the matriarch muttered, "No, this emergency is real."

-

Kodachi screamed and held her head. She felt pressure on her mind, and abruptly she knew no more. A dark smile blossomed upon her face, and her body rose.

-

He was dreaming. In that dream power abounded and the sky trembled in darkness. The wind sounded like a cat hissing, and he stood triumphant on a hill of his dead enemies. While they appeared as ordinary people, something deep inside his psyche assured him they had been powerful rivals. Dark blue confidence flared, shattering imposed presumptions of megalomania.

He was dreaming. In that dream satisfaction filled him and he sighed in contentment. Women surrounded him, served him, submitted to him. He looked at their faces and saw Ukyo, Kasumi, Akane, Kodachi, and dozens of other girls from his travels. Softly, a voice told him exactly what to do, and he felt very safe. Pure white serenity flared, denying the escape of hedonism.

Was he dreaming? It was dark, very dark. Hissing and scratching and biting and pain... until he began to laugh. A golden glow dispelled whatever conquered fears were being unbarred from the depths of his memories.

He felt a metaphysical shrug, and Ranma intuited the creator of these traps preferred the direct approach. Then the fight for Ranma Saotome's sanity truly began, as he found himself balanced upon the bamboo poles over the Pools of Sorrow once more. His dead female side smiled from down below, distracting him while a thing made of teeth and darkness impaled his shoulder.

The method of attack confirmed his suspicions. How the demon had followed between days wasn't important now, as his ego blazed across the dreamscapes striking back with crushing will.

Relentlessly he battled the inhuman, and he noticed with detachment more and more of the settings were ending in the Tendo compound. Occasionally outside, in the koi pond, or even inside the dojo; he knew this meant the Demon had a final plan, and he held the memories of his last position closely. Standing right outside the waters of the koi pond, twisted barbell to one side; Ranma grasped that truth like a lifeline.

-

The scenario was like the last dozen times: he woke up inside in his room, and he unhesitatingly killed the vampire-likeness of Kasumi with a sharp spike of blackened ki. Carefully, he made sure not to get any of the acid she carried on his clothing. Too late he noticed his other hand held a dark malevolence in a cage of crushing will. A small swarm of eyes and teeth sized no larger than a mouse.

"You looked so lonely out there by the pond." Kasumi faded into shock with a whisper, blood leaking out of her stomach. A spilled glass of water lay near her on the floor. He never thought Kasumi would smell that way, but a deep analytical part of him, ill-used but still functioning, murmured 'dead is dead.'

A pulse of power against his barrier reminded Ranma about the demonic infestation. Grimacing, he devoted more ki into containing the entity in his right hand. If not for the knowledge he lived a repeating existence, Ranma knew Kasumi's death would have shaken him into releasing the Demon he had just defeated.

Filthy thing.

Departing the house, Ranma gave thanks his outfit was red and black. The Chinese silk hid blood well. He needed holy objects, ancient wisdom, and a possibly a good fighter at his back. He couldn't risk releasing ki -- his captive might escape.

As he landed on a rooftop, he almost brought his right hand reflexively up to his bleeding shoulder. That hand contained the prison; the demon had laid many snares. It writhed inside his ki, angry at another small defeat. Wiping his bloody left hand on his red silk shirt, and deliberately not thinking about Kasumi, he sought exorcism.

Cologne. She would help.

-

He burst into the Cat Café and beheld chaos. Mousse lay bleeding and unconscious on the floor, and Shampoo was locked in mortal combat with a female warrior wearing feudal samurai armor. Three customers huddled in a corner; the rest had escaped.

"Airen!" Shampoo noticed his arrival. "Help me!"

Grabbing dishes, he imbued them with a minute amount of ki and launched them at the armor. Even that risked much, but Shampoo was in trouble. "Where's the old ghoul?" He asked urgently. Breaking glass punctuated his statement.

"She fighting too. No can talk need concentrate." Beautifully, Shampoo unfolded in a deadly wu-shu combination.

Ignoring the crippling blows as well as the dishes, the warrior fought like a woman possessed. A braided ponytail of black hair trailed a foot down the armor's back, whirling from side to side in melee. A silk hood obscured the attacker's face, but her body was female.

He felt a pulse of satisfaction from the Demon in his right hand, and calmly, the armored warrior backhanded Shampoo through three walls and turned her attention to him. A broken spine from Shampoo's last shot healed with an unpleasant grinding sound.

Where the hell was Cologne?

The setting sun outside indicated his time was running out. "Eat this you bitch! Saotome secret technique: Fast Break!" Making throwing motion around the ki-prison, Ranma swiftly escaped. The possessed woman stood stupidly for a second, as if expecting to catch a thrown demon. Then, she gave chase.

The instant of confusion bought precious time. He leapt to the rooftops and poured on speed, outdistancing the possessed armor within seconds. He could hold out long enough to reach the Fushimiinari Shrine in Kyoto. He knew of the monks there, and they held immense spiritual powers.

The magical whip of dark flame came within centimeters of taking his left eye. Booming laughter assaulted his ears: "Ho-HO ho HO HO!" Risking a glance behind him, he saw Kodachi's face twisted by the pestilence of possession. She brandished a whip of darkness and hunger, which smoldered in darkling flames along with her leotard. The Thing in Ranma's hand called out to part of itself, and he clamped down ruthlessly with crushing will.

Dodging again, Ranma was forced off his chosen path. A crackle of hungry darkness maneuvered him in a half-circle while the woman possessed by the armor arrived. Dodge. Perhaps it was woman who enchanted the armor? Dodge. With magic, he had learned anything was possible.

Expertly herded, Ranma noted he ran back the way he came. He saw the doll-like suit of armor charging, and absently dodged the cracking fire whip by moving faster still. 'How much ki can I risk without freeing the Demon?' Desperate thoughts and plans flowed across his mind.

None were useful except a gamble. Grinning madly, running at the samurai woman in armor, he sped up, as fast as he could possible go, leaking ki into his feet. Using her head a springboard, he formed the pressure wave of ki and flew. Such a thin, little power, but concentrating on two things at once would swiftly wear his alertness down.

As he passed over the Tendo roof, he heard Genma call out "Demon-God Assault Bomb!" from below. Veering sharply upward, he yelled back "Watch it old man!" and saw a frightening reflection in the koi pond.

Kodachi on bat wings of dark hellfire in close pursuit. The wing clipped by Genma's ki-strike swiftly reforming. As if sensing weakness, the caged Thing in his fist pulsed hungrily, and he lost altitude containing it. In an eye blink the Tendo house fell far behind, and he could expect no further help.

Pointing himself straight upwards, he gained altitude at a sharper angle of ascent than the inefficient wings of his pursuit. Anticipating the tactic, she abandoned her whip and began lobbing balls of dark fire. The pressure wave he rode upon served as an effective shield with a bit of maneuvering, as the dark attacks homed relentlessly in on the ki-prison he held.

Leaving Kodachi-akuma far below, he gained height until his lungs hurt. Then reducing the power below him, he carefully drew his hands from beside his body upwards beyond his head. Focusing, he transferred the demon prison into a sort of nose cone heavily reinforced by the vacuum wave he rode.

Now, with only one thing to concentrate his power on, Ranma's speed resounded with a mighty shockwave, and he flew into the twilight, slowly descending, seeking a shrine in the random direction he had chosen.

A half hour and a hundred miles later, he saw a huge torii below him. The symbolic gateway separating a Buddhist temple from the material world never looked more welcoming.

Reducing speed, he circled twice, and flew under the torii, crash landing in the sacred cold spring used for ritual cleansing before entering the shrine proper. The curse triggered, and the Demon tried to escape, seemingly unbothered by the sacred waters.

She felt a burning pain in her shoulder, and guessed her wound had been spiritually cleansed.

Grimacing, Ranma staggered up to the closed gates of the inner temple and pushed them open. Seeing the holy bell used for sacred celebrations, she thrust the fist containing the imprisoned demon inside it next to the striker. Using the Amaguriken, she struck the bell exactly 108 times, releasing the ki-prison slightly with each strike. Such a number should banish all hungers and restore the world to pristine balance; it signified a new year for that reason.

Feeling the malevolence in her right hand weaken, Ranma turned and grabbed the robes of a handy priest. Three bald priests had rushed to investigate the bell chiming. Thrusting the hand containing the wavering malevolence under the captive middle priest's nose, she opened her fist and watched the old guy pale.

For her trouble two ofudas smacked her forehead, delivered none-to-gently. "I'm not possessed you morons; hurry up and purify this before it breaks free!"

Picking her up bodily (and groping her very professionally in the process), the holy men proceeded to ritually submerge her in the fountain outside while chanting sutras and burning incense. This went on in various ways for three hours, until an effeminate looking fourth priest walked over. He spoke a few solemn words and slapped a ward onto her right hand, ending the ceremony. With a satisfied air, he departed.

Sighing, she felt the demon disappear from her perceptions, and hoped it was diminished enough not to bother her next morning.

"What's the big idea taking so long to banish that damned thing?"

Following the eyes of the three priests to her chest, Ranma noticed the silk didn't hide much in the nighttime torchlight. Remembering her position during the ritual cleansing, Ranma swiftly realized how exposed her cleavage became every time they had poured cold water over her head.

"Lechers."

The three priests nodded proudly, in tandem.

"What about him?" She indicated the direction the fourth priest had exited.

"Very devoted." Said the first priest.

"Or very into men." Added the third priest.

The second priest nodded solemnly, though whom he agreed with, Ranma would never decide.

With a large sigh followed avidly by three pairs of eyes, Ranma staggered slowly through the torii. Normally she'd kick some ass for this, but for now all she wanted was to see Kasumi's smile the coming morning.

----

Kasumi merrily hummed as she folded laundry. She thought it very nice (if a little odd) that Ranma hadn't left her side since morning. Kasumi took Akane's reaction to heart, but she couldn't dissuade Ranma from herself. He helped with breakfast, and now he was folding laundry.

Finally she began a conversation about her sisters. She intended to guide the topic over to Akane, and started with Nabiki as neutral ground.

"A game of questions, Ranma? That sounds like such fun!"

"I don't know, Nabiki hides her feelings really well when we play." Ranma still had trouble drawing certain information out of the middle Tendo, though he could last indefinitely with asking inconsequential questions or using safe, already answered topics.

"Well, I don't suppose you could ask her to tell you a question she couldn't answer, then use it on her later? Nabiki knows enough about ground rules to avoid that. Why not just try riddles; I'm sure she'll be stumped eventually. You could think of it as Verbal Musubetsu Kakuto Ryuu."

"But if the problem is she deliberately loses, because she doesn't want to answer the question?"

"Oh, if little sis tried that with me, I'd put her in a double bind with an impossible penalty." Kasumi smiled airily, and moved another load into the washing machine.

Looking at the content laundress with incredulous respect, Ranma wondered why he'd never really noticed the eldest Tendo? Here was a solution to a problem that bothered him for years!

Laughing, he realized the guilt from yesterday was fading. Good naturedly, he answered all of Kasumi's questions, and never once left her side that day.

As he fell asleep that night, he thought of magic, and how his battles ended. Becoming a person who fought, losing himself in the art, what did that speak of his character? At the end of this next battle, perhaps it would no longer be about what he'd become. For once you find yourself; cannot your fundamental core only be enhanced?

----

Watching the pinkish purple ki-ball indicative of satiated lust, Happosai smiled and winked at his heir. "M' boy, this is the last barrier; if you can beat me, truly I have nothing left to show you." His voice was cajoling, free of the weight of infinite days, containing only camaraderie.

Nodding respectfully at his mentor, Ranma realized in a flash of insight, after this fight had finished, and finish it he would, if not today, then some other 'today' . . . .

. . . . . . he realized he would miss looking at Happosai as a master sensei. When not perving, the old man became an engaging and entertaining companion. Seriousness in his art, at least the level of dedication he held himself to, was vanishing rare. Fighting with Happi felt like communication with an equal, like a comradeship transcending age, space, and time.

Ranma realized becoming the ultimate best meant loneliness. But not today. But not for now.

Watching his master, his equal with an odious personal worldview but equal nonetheless, Ranma Saotome smiled in natural joy.

"Begin!" Yelled Soun from the background.

Ranma covered himself in an aura of serenity and vacuum, and took flight. Faster than sound, he flew at Happosai. Changing forms to minimize air resistance, leaking ki to minimize turbulence, he fought. With mini-vacuums smaller than pebbles and sharper than knives, with the cutting edge of his main aura, he battled.

Nabiki's camera would only show fountains of earth as the masters met and redirected high above the ground.

Happosai blocked everything. The micro-vacuums, the Edge of Nirvana, the Soul Cleansing Demon Vortex, the infant beginnings of his chain reaction shots, the inverted ki pinpoint feints. . . . All of them. Levels of ki mastery higher than Genma dreamed, eruptions of control which Cologne would envy. . . . They were not enough.

Neither were they completely lacking. Happosai's inhuman aura of telekinesis wasn't enough, nor was his delayed ki explosions. The few magic artifacts he used in fights – Ranma had now seen all. Like most tricks, they only worked once on a prepared mind.

The other 'masters' of Musubetsu Kakuto Ryu watched with unchecked awe and fear. They watched until the tape in Nabiki's camera ended; they watched until dusk fell. Neither could really tell a story of the ending, but suddenly the battle stopped, and the combatants bowed to each other, agreeing to draw.

Lying on the ruined Earth in the aftermath, Ranma wondered, looking ahead into the maze of today. He wondered at what might remain with the ending of his last battle.

In a way, such a thought terrified him, but also filled him with exalted purpose. An hour in The Day, which was not a day, approached its end, and Ranma Saotome felt the bittersweet kiss of never looking back.

Tomorrow he'd kick the old boy's ass for sure!

Then, it would be Magic Time.

---end "Battling and Becoming"

next: "Heritage"

AN:

--torii look like huge stylized doorframes, and are typically 20 feet or more in height. The really do symbolize the absence of material desire upon Buddhist temple grounds, and are found at all Buddhist temples (to my knowledge) in some form.

--If you want to know more about Klein Bottles, use Google. The in chapter description is spot on.


	9. moments8

Katakana – the simplified Japanese alphabet used to describe names and places

"Heritage"

-----------------

In an anti-climatic thud, the eldest of the Amazons fell onto her face, unconscious. Solicitously, Ranma picked her up, taking her inside the Nekohaten. Cologne always bounced back quick.

-

"Ranma, now that you have joined my House, what is your ambition?" With his completed challenge for adoption into Amazon society, 'son-in-law' had vanished.

"Teach me about magic." Maybe today he'd actually learn.

Thinking of Jusenkyo, Cologne sighed at the exhibited single-mindedness; being female was an obvious strength, not a weakness. The matriarch launched into a lecture in an ancient, barely comprehensible Chinese dialect. This lesson should broaden horizons; Ranma had become family, and therefore her responsibility.

Snorting in annoyance at the incomprehensible babbling, Ranma interrupted, speaking humbly in technically perfect Chinese: "Oh withering mummy, she who scares little children and is known for incontinence, please be content to punish this unworthy sterile game-animal!"

Cackling like a baboon, the matriarch nearly unbalanced and slipped off her staff. Then she struck.

Cologne's reaction surprised him as he rubbed his forehead; he'd beaten that dazzlingly polite greeting out of Mousse just yesterday! Puzzlement and a small bruise occupied his face.

Hopping outside, the old woman prodded Shampoo into maneuverability, and directed the girl to join them. (She had been neutralized with shiatsu during the earlier challenge for adoption.)

Switching back into Japanese, he queried: "Did I mess up the syntax? I know you won't teach me unless it is in Chinese, and you told me Shampoo's tutoring didn't help."

Shampoo looked offended.

"Having Mousse tutor you is not a good idea. Now why did I disapprove of my grand-daughter's teaching again?"

Catching on maybe he didn't politely ask the honored elder for wisdom, he used his true Chinese expertise: "Ranma no know why old woman no like. This talk-talk is best and so cute! Shampoo is wonderful teaching girl!"

Nodding perkily, Shampoo spoke in Japanese: "Airen is too too right! Is best way to communicate. Very, very sexy!"

Proud of their accomplishments, the two considered heirs by the matriarch smiled winningly.

Shaking her head, Cologne asked Ranma to repeat his polite greeting to Shampoo.

Mayhem.

Watching her great-granddaughter yell at Ranma in Mandarin about her perfectly healthy bladder, while trying to brain him with a mallet, caused Cologne to smile wistful while remembering her own youth.

----

Neatly catching Genma's fists, Ranma ended their morning sparring session with a great deal of ki-enhanced pressure.

He struggled the old man into the dojo, ignoring the powerful Crouch of the Wild Tiger, as his father begged and pleaded for breakfast. "Such an unfeeling boy, to make your own father suffer starvation when Kasumi's delectable miso soup is waiting, not fifty yards away!"

Ignoring the moaning and crocodile tears, Ranma settled down to meditate and slowly increased pressure until his father realized it might be smart to shut up.

"Now that I have captured your attention Father, I'd say its time we spoke of my heritage." If a relative happened to be a powerful magician, now would be a great time for a formal introduction.

Surprised at Genma's frantic struggling, Ranma felt a ki force rising to disrupt his own. Three years ago, such a trick might have worked, but now he merely channeled the ki, negating and absorbing its power.

"We are having this discussion old man. I know about the Chilling Lips of Death, the Ghost of a Thousand Fists, and I know I am your better in our Art."

Seeming to relax, but still filled with tension, Genma tried a complex submission maneuver using his legs to attack vulnerable joints. Ranma simply a launched a mini-ki-blast wherever his father tried to grab him, until Genma gave up.

"You ready to talk yet old man? If it will make you speak, I'll promise a dozen course meal afterwards...... better than Kasumi's."

Unusually serious, Genma stared at his son. "Boy, you hold honor higher than I, so if you want the real story, you'll swear no harm will come to me over it." As an afterthought, he added, "And two weeks of food."

"I don't make promises I can't keep. Why does this frighten you? What've you sold me off for now?" With his angst out of the way, Ranma returned: "One week is the limit."

With a roar like a drill sergeant, Genma thrust his arms apart and Opened the Gates with the Yama-sen-ken, breaking Ranma's grip and blasting him away.

Adapting to the unexpected, Ranma bounced off a platform of semi-solid ki, gaining control of the momentum. Nailing his fleeing father's back with a meteor kick, he sent them both through the dojo doors and into the koi pond outside.

Dragging the panda back, leaving a furrow of claw marks in the dirt, Ranma observed it held a sign reading, 'Let's see you make me talk now boy!' -Flip- 'Ten days – compromise.'

With a snort of contempt, Ranma activated both curses using a large infusion of hot ki. He grabbed the sign, and broke it over his human father's head, stating blandly "I don't think that will be hard; forget the food."

Assuming a stance, both Saotomes struck at each other. Genma's goal involved a quick cheap shot followed by breakfast. Ranma wanted answers and wasn't playing around.

Three minutes later Genma Saotome had assumed the submission posture of the Saotome School – the not-so-dreaded 'Carp on a Cutting Board.'

Smirking at his limp opponent on the floor in front of him, Ranma made a victory sign with his left hand and said, "Talk." It was not a request.

"Ask your mother."

"Is that all you have to say?"

"Promises are promises, but life is life." Genma drooled silently thinking, 'Maybe I should have taken the week while the offer was on the table?'

Sighing, Ranma went off to find Nodoka. He could slowly drag the story out of his old man, complete with embellishments and self-aggrandizement, or he could hear the straight truth from his mother. Honestly, he should have asked her first, but somehow they always ended up talking about sex, which still made him uncomfortable. 'Stupid gluttonous, lying old man.'

Five minutes later, when Genma sprang up off the dojo floor, ready spill guts for those wonderful meals, Ranma had already left. With a little more patience, a later, grueling ordeal could have been completely avoided.

----

"Mom?"

"Yes dear?"

"Tell me about my heritage please."

Nodoka's eyes seemed to lose a great deal of their animation, and she stared out at the cherry trees around the private nook they had walked to. A cloud resembling a flattened P-chan drifted lazily in the sky, slowly morphing into another shape.

"Your dad; he gave permission for this?"

"He told me to ask."

"Well I can't speak much of Genma's parents. I was told they perished in the last world war, but we both know your father, so the real story could be something else." Nodoka sighed fondly.

"As for my side; well you have famous warriors and scoundrels in your bloodline. Miyamoto Mushashi and Iwaru Aoi for instance, and one of your great-great-grandfathers was Ainu. Some might hold that against you, so be careful who you tell."

Staring at the sky, Ranma pondered his heritage; he had never heard of Iwaru Aoi.

Finishing her drawn out pause, Nodoka continued: "My mother also told me, when I was a little girl, about how dozens of generations back, our fore-mother was a water-sprite. Whether or not you believe this is your choice.

"The real part of our heritage, is my ancestral family curse: our female children will love the 'cockroaches of this world.' That's why warriors feature prominently in our bloodline, the kami cursing us believed anything with an indomitable will to live, no matter what punishments assailed them, counted as such."

Flashback Genma being tripped by Happosai. Genma getting viciously savaged by the crowd of women chasing Happosai. Genma surviving on cardboard and snails after incurring his master's displeasure. Nodoka thrashing Genma with a bokken after she let him see her naked. . . . Repeat for months on end. end FB 

Thinking carefully of how well Kuno ignored injury, Ranma thought this perfectly explained why his amnesiac girl side felt an attraction. 'Cockroach' was such an appropriate word.

"Do roaches have spines?"

"I don't think so."

Very appropriate.

"How come this secret terrifies the old man?"

"Poor Genma still thinks he forced me to marry him with his wonderful little Art. This guilt binds him more effectively than other bonds I could create." Nodoka sighed longingly. "I'm hopelessly in love with the scumbag, which means I accept him totally for what he is. Through the generations, we've learned such painful lessons from our wayward husbands." She unsheathed the ever-present katana for emphasis. "I might have said something about my ancestral curse slowly emasculating an adulterous husband with an agonizing gangrenous wound, but such trifles are so hard to remember. Why I can't even remember what the curse would consider cheating!"

Mother and son shared a round of light laughter. A nearby shrubbery seemed to flinch, but maybe it was a strong summer breeze, and not a fat martial artist hiding with the Way of the Silent Thief.

"So if I have girls, they'll be under this curse too?"

"No." Her cheerful eyes shouted 'Surprise!'

Picking himself up from the ground, he stared at his mother.

"Really Ranma, the curse transfers through women; don't marry a man. Why do you think I've pushed so hard for your manliness?"

"The contract?" He ventured hesitantly, thinking 'If she loves and accepts Genma for exactly who he is, no wonder Mom seems crazy sometimes.'

"Not at all dear; I want lots of little grandchildren to dote over. If you ever need help arranging your mistresses, I'll be there for you. Mom has contacts with geisha clans."

"Um. . . . . thanks. Can we talk about something else now?"

Cheerfully, Nodoka chirped, "Let's talk about sex!"

----

"Hey Nabiki, I found something new out about my family; could definitely affect how my married life proceeds."

"How interesting. . . . . and now you've come to me to make this little problem all better! Standard 2500 listener's fee, and 10,000-yen–plus-expenses solution; you should know the drill by now Ranma." The mercenary girl sounded regretful, like pointing out obvious details was quite a chore.

"Oh; okay, if you're not interested, you should have said so." Ranma began walking slowly towards the exit to Nabiki's room. She made no move to stop him, and looked bored.

Ranma's dreams of charging for the information the kami considered his father a cockroach shattered, as he made a show of stepping into the outer hallway. That ten yen would have been so sweet!

--three hours and twelve minutes later--

Ranma was in the dojo doing standard kata, while a bowling-ball sized ki construct hovered above his head continually assumed new, detailed geometric shapes. Since the construct was invisible, adding to the difficulty level of the exercise, Ranma easily avoided awkward questions.

Walking into her family's training area, Nabiki appreciated the vibes of power radiating outward. She waited for the right moment, until Ranma was balanced on his left toe with his right leg vertically in front of his body.

"So does Akane know you're destined to bear an unscrupulous man's cursed female child yet?"

Appreciating the show when a suddenly visible beveled ki-cone fell downward onto Ranma's head, violently introducing his face to the wooden dojo floor, Nabiki's eyes twinkled. She loved it when supplicants bowed down before her.

"What!!" Rebounding to his feet, Ranma appeared suddenly in front of his unwelcome interruption and noticed her outstretched hand.

Grumbling, he fetched his hidden stash and put 2000 yen into the hand.

"Acceptable. I won't tell Akane. However there's still Kuno, Kodachi, Daddy, Ukyo, Shampoo, Cologne -- the list is practically endless!"

Sighing, Ranma put the rest of his money into Nabiki's hand and said in a defeated tone of voice: "This buys silence until noon tomorrow, and includes an explanation of how you know."

Pondering silently, Nabiki observed her pigeon's attempted deceit. She could tell he was very agitated and almost happy over her discovery. But 30,000 yen beckoned....

"Agreed." Promptly producing a phonebook, Nabiki opened it and pointed to a number right beside the katakana heading 'Martial Arts Genealogy.' It was between the listings for 'Martial Arts Floristry' and 'Martial Arts Golfing.' A bilingual observer might consider this a remarkable coincidence, but like most Japanese high school graduates, Ranma had never gotten beyond a fourth grader's reading (or speaking) English comprehension level.

Further examining the phonebook, Ranma was amazed at branches of martial arts listed. It could take a couple years to learn all of them! Why had he never looked here?

'Maybe being away from civilization while learning the Art had an opportunity cost of it's own?' In his mind's eye Ranma beheld a male chibi-version of himself meditating wisely in an elaborate zen sand garden. 'Or maybe in some ways I'm still an uneducated hick!' yelled a wandering chibi-Ranma-chan (dressed as a professor) who disrupted the peaceful tranquility as she employed a phonebook as a bludgeon, dissolving the daydream.

Shaking the cobwebs away, Ranma left the dojo expecting to make a quick call. Noticing Nabiki sitting with a toll sign near the Tendo phone, he paused. Opening the phonebook, he memorized the address near the number and left.

-

Strip mall. Seedy neighborhood. Visible garbage littering the street outside (highly unusual in Japan). He located the address, badly spray painted in white on the inside of a cracked plate glass window, and walked inside the only Martial Arts Genealogy business in the phone book.

"Hello sir, what brings you to our offices on such a fine day?"

Grey carpets, tweed furniture, and florescent lights. A huge cluttered mess of papers sat on a desk in the back. A young woman with a remarkably clean work area in front of her stood, after offering the greeting. Observing the perky, attractive green-haired receptionist for ten seconds, he mentally groaned.

She wore a stunning green blouse with matching loop earrings and heels. The slit white skirt wondrously demonstrated high fashion in offsetting her legs. Her medium sized cleavage was somehow exaggerated with padding, but the mechanics were unclear. Thanks to past challenges and circumstances, Ranma recognized cross dressers almost instantly.

"I'm here to research an ancestral family curse, but I'd also like to know exactly how it's possible to do Martial Arts -Genealogy- ?"

"Ah, it sounds like you do indeed need our special services." The receptionist looked pleased at the prospect of a client. "If it is not possible for our trained staff to research your ancestry using the traditional government documentation, we call forth spirits of the past. The 'Martial Arts' part is for when they don't cooperate."

"I might need additional consultation, but for now I'm here for the file on the Saotomes requested by Nabiki Tendo over the phone earlier."

"You don't look much like a woman, and Ms. Tendo instructed us not to release that information without her written consent." The receptionist's voice sounded colder. "I'll prepare tea while you ponder this dilemma."

Following the traditions of the tea ceremony, both enjoyed their beverage in silence, and afterwards, business discussion re-opened.

"You see," said Ranma boldly, triggering his curse, "I really am Nabiki Tendo, and I'm here to pick up the information I called in earlier."

Not even blinking, the receptionist nodded in a business-like manner. "Not a problem Miss Tendo, if you'll sign this blank sheet of paper, I'll verify your signature against the one you faxed to us, and you can be on your way."

"Oh you misunderstand!" Bubbled Ranma-chan in her sickly sweet voice, "I'm just here to examine and make sure everything is in order, tee-hee!"

The receptionist looked uncomfortable. "Very well, as per the earlier request of Nabiki Tendo, here is the appropriate folder."

Greedily, Ranma tore open the manila envelope. Inside was a picture of Nabiki posing with a victory sign in a sexy looking swimsuit. The photo had a written message on it: 'The price went up 10,000 yen!' Next to it was a picture of Ranma-chan with the caption 'Beware of stupid impersonations from this person.'

In righteous outrage, she exclaimed: "My impersonations are not stupid!"

"Whatever you say hon. I do know a way to get unlimited access 'inside our files.' " The receptionist extended a hand onto Ranma's inner thigh while delivering the sultry invitation.

"Ah, no, that's okay really!"

The door to the office closed slammed slut ( author's Freudian Slip) as a red-headed whirlwind vacated the premises.

"Wow. That Tendo woman is amazing!" The receptionist's face lit up in worship. "When she comes in again, I'll offer an internship!"

----

Same strip mall. Same seedy neighborhood. Same tacky décor.

"Hello sir, what brings you to our offices on such a fine day?"

And the receptionist was still a cross-dresser. He looked like a glamorous woman, but Ranma could tell.

"A consultation on my ancestral family curse; I've got 400,000 yen!" Stealing Nabiki's emergency fund made for good revenge, even if she'd never know.

Looking at the completely blank calendar, the receptionist said sweetly "Well, you don't have an appointment, but we can certainly fit you in." Then 'she' called out "Oi! Yusaku! Yusaku!"

No response from the back area was forthcoming.

Taking a deep breath, the receptionist shrieked: "Yu-kun if don't come greet our -paying- client this instant, I'll personally go back there and set fire to that stupid book!"

A short, thin man with non-matching socks hobbled out of a cubbyhole in the back. His balding head glinted in the florescent light, lending him as much dignity as any nerd-like educational figure was allowed.

Surprisingly, he didn't wear glasses or have any beard to offset his ordinary-looking face.

Ranma immediately recognized the aura of a powerful martial artist, and wondered how much of the exhibited behavior was a facade.

Producing what looked like a round eye monocle from an inner pocket, Yusaku approached while waving it around. It promptly turned black, with purple highlights.

Looking at Ranma, he queried hesitantly, "You know you're possessed by a demon, right?"

Shaking his head back and forth, Ranma indicated this was news to him.

"According to my crystal, it's a type of psyche drinker, currently residing inside a hole in your aura around your sex drive. I can't wait to hear about this one."

Ugh. . . . he'd thought that little foundling of Kodachi's demon was eliminated. Even worse – the story was embarrassing.

"Well now that we've seen through your nefarious disguise, aren't you going to change into a tacky female caricature and attack us with a corny, slut-like martial art?" Yusaku rolled his eyes at his companion's impolite directness.

Looking at the two genealogists, Ranma asked in a sympathetic voice, "You get that a lot?"

The receptionist nodded.

Ranma motioned her closer.

She approached hesitantly.

Moving his head near her earlobe, he shouted as loud as he possibly could, "NO!"

The receptionist fell over, hands splayed in the traditional gesture of warding.

Returning to a debonair posture, Ranma spoke solemnly "Now for my story."

"Wait!" Yusaku stopped him. "Hold on for four minutes, would you?"

Mystified, Ranma watched as the less-than dignified looking man retreated into his cubby. He heard rustling noises, followed by a shrill beeping sound three minutes later.

Returning with a bag of microwave popcorn and an opened chocolate bar, Yusaku stole the receptionist's comfortable looking seat and proceeded to wave the candy in front of her face. Her teeth latched on like a starving marmoset and proceeded gnawing.

Yusaku nodded for the tale to begin, popping a kernel into his mouth.

Observing the twitching faux-girl, Ranma looked skeptical, but began.

-

"So let me get this straight," Yusaku paused while considering a summation, "you have a hole in aura around your sex drive because an Amazon tried to kill you, but you've left it alone because a half dozen women are throwing themselves at you, none of which you're sure you want to marry?"

Ranma nodded, and Yusaku burst out laughing. 'Knew this was gonna be embarrassing.' He thought darkly.

The receptionist, woozy with a chocolate fix, added: "And you got the demon from a devil huntress who happened to be possessed by it? Like demons are communicable diseases? Don't you know anything about supernatural containment?!" With amazed disbelief, she continued: "Wow, I've never met an idiot of such high caliber!"

Getting into the swing of things, Yusaku wheezed in between tears of amusement, "Plus he was stupid enough to visit Jusenkyo with two, Two! Family curses like that. Any apprentice magician would tell you to stay away from similar reservoirs with those two curses! Wa hah haha!"

Sobering for a second, the receptionist added sympathetically, "I'd just undo that little hole in a Shinto temple and let the monks take care of the demon and a girl do the rest. It's not like those pent up passions would explode as violently the next morning, eh?" The cross dresser winked while suggestively sliding her tongue across her lips.

Watching the genealogists burst into fresh sniggering, Ranma experienced annoyed irony. His ever-repeating day started out with a physical reset, meaning Shampoo's old Xi Fa Xiang Gao Shiatsu suppressed his (denied for a year) sex drive daily. He'd found it too hard to control with said limitation released, so had made the decision to leave well enough alone.

Pulling out 100,000 yen, Ranma waved it carelessly, causing the receptionist to morph into a business professional. He placed the money on her desk with a demand, "I want to know everything about my family curses. Now!"

Noted the client's obvious displeasure, the office girl acted. With a well-placed elbow to his head, Yusaku switched to lecture mode: "Ah, the first curse is from your father, and is pretty obvious. The standard 'live in interesting times' curse, usually from a witch or miko who got her panties in a bunch. Your Dad must've done something particularly nasty, since those normally aren't inherited."

Darkly thinking of a Happosai-based visitation, Ranma had a pretty good suspicion of what had riled the priestess' undergarments, and who had been sacrificed to take the blame.

"The second is harder to pinpoint; with that demon on you, all I can say is it only affects female descendents. You wouldn't have had to worry if you'd skipped Jusenkyo. Come back when you're cleansed for specifics."

Politely thanking the aggravating duo, Ranma attempted an exit.

Circumstance interfered as both Genealogists lunged for the money on the desk, sending the teakettle into the air. It spun end over end, releasing tepid water, cold enough to activate a curse. Down came the liquid, dousing an already aggravated Ranma, who growled and inadvertently put out a low-grade battle aura. The indignity!

Noticing the emanation, the receptionist crowed in vindication, "See, see, Yu-kun! I told you she was a demon-possessed martial artist bent on stealing your aura crystal with a smutty martial art! I'll bet the name of her school is something like 'Slippery Fish Kendo' or even 'Anything Goes!'

Pausing at the verge of violence, Ranma listened to Yusaku explain Jusenkyo to someone who'd never personally experienced it. With a vein twitching on her forehead, she departed.

Payback was best performed on unsuspecting targets.

----

The train ride to Kyoto left him time to brood, and Ranma felt despondency at his immediate plan.

"Airen, no worries. This go really smooth, trust Shampoo!" His Amazon friend was dressed in a purple cheongsam with matching hair ornaments.

Looking at the girl he had picked for 'later' Ranma couldn't help thinking this entire trip was a huge mistake. But were those sentiments his judgment, or a demon's attempt at self-preservation?

Finally they arrived, and forcing himself into the Fushimiinari Shrine felt like struggling through molasses.

Looking up at the well-tended bushes on both sides of a huge multi-tiered stone stairway, he tried calling forth zazen. As before, his ki didn't respond. 'Ranma Saotome doesn't lose.' This self-affirmation motivated him up 108 steps and across five tiers of gardens to the shrine proper, passing under the symbolic torii. Shampoo waved from the top, with thumbs up.

This meant a Brother had examined the message Cologne sent ahead, and the ceremony was on. Doing his best, he trudged upwards, examining the smooth stones trod by countless visitors. Each step felt like another boulder on his back.

The weight wasn't real; he should have jumped or even flown into Fushimiinari. The malevolent force unbalancing his psyche would soon get its metaphysical ass kicked! Through his burdens, Ranma smiled, and then winced at his rebellion's result. More weight.

A half hour later, he climbed the last stair. The monks indeed validated their reputation; Ranma felt the glowing auras of at least sixteen spiritual masters. Of one the lesser brothers motioned them to a small cleansing spring, and both bearers of Jusenkyo's touch exercised great care.

One of Ranma's arms slipped, almost of its own accord, and a red-headed girl grimaced.

Ignoring this act of minor shape shifting, a Brother led them into a comfortable reliquary for the exorcism. More accurately, Shampoo dragged Ranma along, thanks to a loving death grip on an arm. (The dry one.)

They entered, finding elaborate chalk geometries on the floor, and three monks with powerful auras in lotus-style tranquil meditation.

"Step in the center of this room and release the hole." Their guide sounded serene, like ho-hum, just another sanity drinker, no big deal.

Ranma took the indicated position, but found her hands wouldn't obey when she tried to manipulate the necessary pressure points. "Shampoo: the back up!" Gasped the struggling girl.

With an expert touch, the Amazon was there, using Xi Fa Xiang Gao Shiatsu formula three-three-seven. Five seconds later, the world disappeared.

Inside a dreamscape of darkness, Ranma summoned white serenity and returned male. He blinked at the three orbiting Buddha's surrounding his head, squatting in repose. The red one frowned, another translucent Buddha looked constipated, and the last, wavering in purple, was there and not there simultaneously.

He cracked his spiritual knuckles and smirked.

"Lead me from the unreal to the real!" Shouted the purple Buddha, disappearing and taking the world along.

Contentment, security, love. These feeling bombarded Ranma's psyche as he put down the morning paper. His loving wife, Shampoo snuggled closer to him on his lap, cooing "Airen, Airen!" Blinking, Ranma realized neither of them wore underwear beneath their comfortable robes. As Shampoo's hips gyrated against his, he thought 'That can't be right, I swore never to marry an Amazon.'

Pulling away from her husband, Akane smiled at him, and his heart lifted at seeing the tomboy who could understand him, but not trust him. Oddly enough, she wore the same clothing as Shampoo, unselfconsciously too. "Honey, I fixed your favorite today!" gushed his wife.

Stomach clenching with bad memories, he turned his head away, and when a plate of Okonomiyaki slid in front of him, he smiled back at Ukyo. His cute wife began gushing over the coming day, and Ranma began to wonder when did Ucchan get so submissive?

Kodachi's laugh jarred him as his wife whipped a ribbon around him, dragging him outside. Momentarily dizzy, Ranma began to wonder what was going on. Then a feeling of overwhelming acceptance destroyed whatever doubts he harbored, as he remembered.

With the successful completion of his infinite day, he'd found a spell for the ideal wife and invoked it! Whenever his wife deviated from perfection, another aspect of her wondrous charm flowed into dominance. Truly this was the final paradise for a man torn between loves!

"Shut your mouth, close your lips, and say something!" Whispered an invisible Buddha.

Looking at his wife in the limo beside him, who flickered between Kasumi and Nabiki as he mentally flipped between needing comfort and unbiased advice, Ranma clenched his metaphysical jaw shut and summoned a grayish, agitated ki. With a loud "Kiyaah!" the world ripped asunder.

Shuddering on a darkened neutral dreamscape, Ranma reflected the sanity drinker had learned from their last encounter. The feelings associated with such a fantasy preyed intensely on his inability to choose a wife. Rejecting a false paradise tailored for your specific heart was hard. Obviously his worst weakness had been exposed; no mere ruse like that would fool him again!

"Lead me from darkness to light!" Sang the translucent Buddha in a husky vibrato. The endless dark faded into gradually emerging patterns.

Functions. Shapes. The secrets of the universe. A dance of fractals dazzled Ranma's mind as he began to truly understand. Why this was raising Kissing the Face of Life to the next dimension– the ultimate ki attack or defense! Hypnotized by the weaves of spirit in front of him, Ranma felt himself at the brink of awesome revelation. Time ceased to hold meaning; he'd take forever and a day for this pinnacle of the Art. As he gathered himself for a mental leap inside the intricacies of technique, a translucent Buddha appeared beside him.

Wisely, it intoned in the music of the spheres: "Do not take the Buddha for the Ultimate. As I look at him, he is still the hole in the privy."

Shocked out of his contemplation by such desecration, he struck at the translucent Buddha with a dangerous golden beam of ki made of fanatic devotion. Like those relying on violence for enlightenment, Ranma destroyed what he held dearly.

Passing right through the hovering little prophet, the attack shook the incomprehensible spiritual weave to its foundation. The representation of the infinite, symbolizing the final, conclusive answers, slowly dissolved into black nothingness.

The neutral dreamscape returned, and the scowling red Buddha remained. Shaking his fist at the little man, Ranma raged "Why! I close! I almost understood!"

That technique; he'd been searching for it all his life.

"Lead me from death to immortality!" The red Buddha sounded furious.

Dreamscapes whipped by him; traps avoided, snares laid bare. He saw the demon in his mind, the creature responsible for his suffering. It was hundreds of feet tall. He gathered power, gathered will.

"Sharp Edge of Nirvana!" Streamers of emotions foreign, intimate, and repulsive assaulted the creature. Balls of crushing will drove holes in its amorphous shape. Cubes and cones of rage exploded alongside it. Flashes of hatred ripped at its blackness. Wisps of acceptance dissolved trailing streamers. Reaching for his heart, Ranma poured his being into the attack.

Ponderously, the entity collected itself. Condensing under the onslaught, it assumed a new shape. Pausing momentarily, Ranma looked back into his own eyes.

Musubetsu Kakuto Ryu met the clumsy charge of something that didn't even seem human. With satisfaction, he grappled with, and swiftly snapped the neck of his doppelganger.

In a flash the false representation of himself reformed, imitating his own attack back at him. Avoiding the grapple, and falling backwards, he used his legs in a scissor-like grab to dislocate the demon-clone's right knee. Darting in as it struggled upright, he came down with a hard heel to its forehead, crushing the skull.

With another flash, it reformed. Catching on, this time Ranma merely crippled his adversary by ruining the tendons required for movement with precision knife-hands. The manifestation flopped towards him still, a mindless attacker with his face.

"On meeting the Buddha, slay the Buddha!" Yelled the red Buddha heatedly, and Ranma noticed blood dripping off the statue's robes.

Who was he to argue? An invisible ki-knife, a hybrid of vacuum and triumph, hit the statue in the chest, shattering it.

"Not me you nit!" Called back the red Buddha as it crumbled into pieces and vanished.

Pacing around the creature with his face, staying out of biting distance, Ranma pondered his current situation. Obviously this trap required some strange key, likely a behavior abhorrent to him.

Absently changing gender, she noticed her double also became female. Still pathetically disabled, though.

"Ranma Saotome doesn't give up!" She shouted into the gray flat plane their battlefield had become. No response answered her defiance.

Summoning enlightened serenity, with a running start she flew across the featureless gray, seeking the real opponent. For hours she traveled, determination never wavering. Finally, Ranma set down, ready for battle, but also aware of the futility of energy waste.

Her completely healed clone snarled from a few feet away, and she knew this trap contained only the false representation and herself. Damn delaying tactic! Though time flowed differently inside her own mind.

"On meeting the Buddha, slay the Buddha." She repeated it with a placid voice, still embracing oneness. Calmly, she crushed the trachea of the attacking copy. If anything, she was the enlightened one here!

Suddenly the serene mindset dropped away, as the answer presented itself. Taunting her with a decoy; the demon surely knew her too well. Kicking the asphyxiating clone into the gray stratosphere, Ranma's conclusions continued. These traps -- traumatic and much more skillful than their first clash. An unbidden thought rose: 'Without the monks' prodding, I'd be a prisoner in my own mind.'

"If I can't win, the best you're getting is a draw!" The angry taunt into the gray void produced no response.

"Here goes everything," said Ranma softly, regretfully, after waiting for an answer.

She called her ki, feeling emotions swirl across her mind. First she built anger, followed by self-confidence. Holding both dearly, she switched into serenity while grasping the cores of the first two, hot and cold pinpricks on the edges of her consciousness.

She gathered ambient ki, forcing everything through her filters, building a variation of the Hi Ryu Shoten Ha stronger than Armageddon itself. After an unknown time, Ranma could hold no more power safely.

Recklessly charging ahead, Ranma whispered in the beautiful voice of a person at peace, "Musubetsu Kakuto Ryu Final Technique: I Am The Buddha!" Then, smiling, she raised her fist in an invincible uppercut.

And as the released energies overwhelmed her, she felt a darkness torn from her mind.

--

Groaning, Ranma slowly became aware. Whatever her head rested on sure was soft. She opened her eyes, and saw the domed ceiling of the reliquary, where the ceremony should have taken place. Varying her field of vision, she saw two large purple mounds around the top of her view.

"Are you feeling better now my love?" Asked Shampoo with concern in Mandarin.

Recognizing exactly where her lead lay, Ranma sat up from her intimate position on Shampoo's lap.

"Well enough," Responded Ranma in the same language.

Flipping to her feet, Ranma moved to leave the room, but not before Shampoo grasped her hand.

Upon exit, an older monk, who radiated authority, halted them.

"Saotome-san, you were very lucky. The ritual was successful, but at great cost. Two of our brotherhood perished during the ceremony; please tell me how you encountered this creature!" The monk bowed low with his last request. The rising moon glowed in the background.

Ranma explained the strange circumstances regarding his possession, including the repetitious day.

When the story finished, the venerable monk broke into a smile. "That's wonderful news then!"

Ranma and Shampoo both looked puzzled.

"Ah, I forget not everyone understands Demons like our order. They do not exist in time as we understand it; instead they exist in memories and space. If you provide a way for such a creature to travel, it can inhabit you in dreams and across the reaches of time. Why it even followed you into this demi-existance. Since this day truly did not happen, our brothers still live!"

"Does this mean nothing I do can cleanse Kodachi?"

Shaking his head sadly, the elder sighed. "Since she begins your 'day' possessed, nothing you can do will free the girl permanently during these repeats. The demon inside her though, will gain no advantage from this. Come back on another of your 'days' and ask Brother Ichiro for training. If this young woman is important to you, then removing her demon safely is something you should learn."

Not wanting to relive this ordeal, already fading into a half-remembered nightmare, Ranma nodded. Silently she vowed never again to inherit a daily Demon from carelessness.

Leaving the shrine together, they soon arrived at their final destination: a cheap hotel. The Amazon was insistent they consummate the deal, even if she wouldn't remember tomorrow. Her Airen would know, and that was enough for Shampoo, explained the girl while they walked to their room. Wondering at this price, and at who was using who, they fell onto the bed sheets together.

---

Much later, the purple haired girl whispered, "I love you, Ranma."

As his companion slipped into slumber, Ranma thought the tangle of Amazon Law wasn't something he'd inherited from his father's stupidity. He didn't have to jump on the challenge log, whatever the old man had said.

Shampoo's heart was a problem he'd created himself. Was it fair to merely abandon her?

-----------

next: "Curses and Kamis"

-----------

Author's Notes:

--Quotes used by the Fushiminarii monks provided by the 2000 "Little Zen Calendar." Specifically they come from the Upanishads, and the scholars Lin-Chi and Pai-Chang.

-- (-san) is a gesture of formal respect. Chibi means small, commonly used to refer to funny deformed caricatures popular in some animes.


	10. moments9

-dono (degree of lordlike respect higher than the esteemed –sama)

"Curses and Kami"

----------------------

Entering the seedy 'Martial Arts Genealogy' storefront, Ranma-chan tried to look helpless. Strands of hair jutted out of her pigtail, and she had deliberately dirtied her face and clothing at a nearby abandoned lot.

She panted in mock exhaustion, a noise that attracted a besotted stare from the cross-dressing receptionist. An indifferent observer of Japanese society would have admiringly used the word 'bishonen' in describing the receptionist rushing to Ranma's side. That unfamiliar gender, lean body, and high tenor voice indicative of a beautiful person who could be either male or female. This particular bishonen made a sympathetic noise, and wore a teal green dress with matching seashell earrings.

With terrible acting, Ranma-chan wailed: "Woe, Odiousness, and Bad Noodles! You'll protect me, won't you?"

The receptionist embraced her, brushing her hands low enough to squeeze Ranma's cute ass. A soothing dulcet voice whispered assurances in her ear. Leaning into this hug, deliberately smearing filth over her ' hero's ' dress, Ranma made a face at the obvious lack of deodorant.

"What's wrong? I'll solve this little problem little lady." Said the receptionist, hoping to play hero for later rewards. Shuddering with fake tears, but really trying to hide amused disgust, Ranma contained her laughter.

"I was chased here by an evil man using noodles in a decidedly phallic way! He ranted incessantly about powdered crystals and aphrodisiacs!" No matter how badly Ranma failed at keeping a straight face, the secretary was looking at her chest.

"Fear not, young blossom, I'll take this perv and his slutty martial art down!" Striking a pose, the bishonen brushed an elbow against the bottom of Ranma's breasts while dramatically pulling away, and left seeking glory. Unnoticed, the kanji for 'easy slut' was now written on the back of 'her' green dress in mud.

Whistling cheerfully, Ranma-chan put the 'Closed' sign up and locked the front entrance. "Oi! Yusaku! I got 100,000 and an untranslated Grecian manuscript!" Cologne had wonderful things if you knew where to look.

Plodding out of his cubby, the fashion-impaired scholar noted everything. "Good job disposing of Lin. . . she'd get in the way. Let me lock the back, and we can do business."

-

"Wow, I've never seen results like this! I'm amazed you're still alive!"

Puzzled, Ranma-chan stared at the humming curse-diagnosis crystal. Dangling from a golden chain in front of her, it swung like a pendulum, and alternated between teal, purple, and a storming black/white plaid pattern.

"First, you've been to Jusenkyo, which interacted competitively with a family curse from your mother's side. Essentially the Spring of the Drowned Girl and the Bane of Heirs fought it out over the magical side of your soul. Jusenkyo won, but the other curse will be especially powerful in your children unless you dispel it. I recommend the daughter of Suseri-Hime and O-Kuni-Nushi; that little brat knows her stuff.

"Secondly: the good news! The ultra-powerful "Life in Interesting Times" curse your father fobbed off on you is nearly expired! According to the spell structure, it thinks you've died a couple dozen times, meaning its purpose is fulfilled. It should fade in 48 hours; meanwhile be careful.

"Finally, you are suffering a condition outside my experience." Holding up the crystal, currently set on the vortex of black and white patterns, Yusaku gazed into the depths of his device. The strange magical static reflected off his bald head, making him look mystical.

"These patterns of yin and yang indicate you've crossed over the technical boundary that separates mortals from the spirit plane. Have you eaten any major items of power, like a Silver Bough, rancid Ambrosia, or Chimera's Tongue?"

Thinking hard, Ranma recalled countless crazy things. "What about a Dragon's Whisker?"

"Nope; good cure for baldness though." Yusaku sounded wistful.

"How about accidentally inhaling some ashes from the rebirth of phoenix-god?" Those made Ranma feel like sneezing for days.

"According to Aoi, that increases latent ki abilities, but should not generate this." Yusaku gestured to his crystal, producing wisps of white static over a black background in time with Ranma's heartbeat.

"Being exposed to ki from a Dragon's descendant? Erasing a Mark of the Gods? Pissing off a Ghost Cat? Being stuck in a demi-plane? Possession by a Sanity Drinker? Touching the Water of Life from an Orochi? Incidental exposure to a Reversal Jewel?" Rattling off these and more, Ranma looked pleadingly at Yusaku.

"Hmm. That 'Interesting Times' curse wasn't cast by an amateur; but no. Those experiences could not have dealt such redefinition to your metaphysical reality. An active Greater Artifact of Traveling is about the only possible culprit, and then you'd have to grind it up and internalize it somehow -- sound familiar?"

Shaking her head sadly, Ranma looked dejected. Looking for a bright side, she asked, "If I remove my curses, will it stick if I'm stuck outside normal time?"

"No."

"So you can't help me?" Ranma sounded resigned.

Squinting at his client, the scholar pulled out an amulet from his back pocket. The chain was a fine silvery metal, with a centerpiece of an octagonal polished woodcut depicting a bonsai tree. Entering into a lecture a used-car salesman would envy, he exhorted with gusto.

"This here is a genuine rare artifact from the Kami's Domain. If you wear it, it wears you! This means if you're stuck, and it sticks, Kami curse removers do too. Permanent! However, this little beauty was not obtained easily. Yours for cheap cheap rental fee of only 400,000 yen! Bargain!"

"Sold!" Ranma reached for Nabiki's stash, but was stopped by Yusaku.

"Now, now, girl, if you're in a time paradox I won't git paid! Take the Amulet of Presence, but bring it and the cash back in one week my real time. If you don't, I'll curse you nine ways to Purgatory!"

"What's the catch?" When people acted like Nabiki, something was up.

Looking slightly nervous, Yusaku blandly replied, "No catch."

"Then draw up a contact which is outside of time." Uncomfortable, the small man unconsciously backed away, a sign this bargain was bad news.

"Give me your word of honor." Yusaku thought that 'outside of time' stuff was spooky! It reminded him too much of home, where he was no longer welcomed.

Smirking, Ranma-chan replied "I swear by Musubetsu Kakuto Ryuu, and all that is dear to me: I'll give you back this piece of junk in a week with 400,000 yen if it works, if it doesn't kill me, and if you've told me absolutely everything. Oh, and you have to be here to get it, otherwise I keep it."

Matching the smirk, the proprietor of the Genealogy shop spoke his half of the deal in a cultured, snobby tone: "I, Yusaku no Kami of the aspects of Ancestry and Curses, do hereby swear to abide by these terms, with the provision of full disclosure being contingent upon Ranma Saotome staying long enough to hear the history of the Amulet of Presence, and with the provision of delivery having the failure clause of the renter's future happiness, which is itself contingent upon my presence to receive the object."

The bargainers, deep inside their essences, felt a metaphysical vibration like a striking gong. The Amulet of Presence disappeared from Yusaku's hand and reappeared around Ranma's neck.

"Wait a second; if you're domain is 'Ancestral Curses' couldn't you remove mine?" Ranma felt more complications from that 'Interesting Times' curse in the near future, as she patiently restrained herself from killing the small smirking kami.

"Those aren't my curses; it would be like using someone else's toothbrush; disgusting unless they were your lover. I've never met who set these, so, No!!"

Sitting down, Yusaku began a long droning lecture about the history and significance of the Amulet....

--12 hours and one gender change later--

With the kami-posing-as-scholar still talking, Ranma woke up for the fifty eighth time. The receptionist no longer slept on his lap, having left for the night. His daily reset approached.

"Hold it!"

Obligingly, Yusaku stopped with the murmured protest of only being a third done.

Summing everything he'd been told so far, Ranma held up the Amulet of Presence. "Basically this oversized paperweight is responsible for thousands of feuds on the spiritual plane, and its only trick is invisibility to kami by channeling power through it?"

"In a nutshell, yes. But you can't lose it, ever, and it will always hang around your neck in the Kami Plane. The only way to transfer it is to give it freely, otherwise it will find a way back."

"Is there any Kami, who -won't- be pissed off at me because I'm wearing it?"

Pensively, Yusaku looked toward the heavens. "Just me, Amaterasu, and anyone younger than five centuries, otherwise have fun! The best entrance for you to take into the Kami plane is at the Temple of the Ghost Boar; he'll think you're me and let you pass."

Groaning, Ranma felt himself fade out, still wearing the Amulet.

He completely missed Yusuku's final warning, "Watch out for Izanagi, she's still mad about that little prank 2500 years ago!"

----

"Nabiki!"

The middle Tendo pushed her perverted doshinji away, and stared icily at this unexpected intrusion. Surreptitiously, she took her hand out of her shorts, wiping two damp fingers on her sheets.

"Don't you know to knock before entering a lady's room Saotome?"

Answering would be fruitless, leading to a loss of conversational initiative, so Ranma changed the subject, "I need the location of Temple of the Ghost Boar."

Examining her customer and finding a new feature, Nabiki decided upon maximum mischief. "Today is your lucky day! All I need is that cute charm locket you're wearing." Whichever fiancée had gotten it for him would doubtlessly cause Ranma's intense suffering at its absence. Serve the moron right for entering a girl's room uninvited during her special private time.

Contemplating the scraggly bonsai tree on the Amulet of Presence, and wondering how it could be termed 'cute,' Ranma sighed. "Just tell me a price in yen."

Resting her head on the pillow behind her, Nabiki pondered. By his defeated tone, the sap knew losing the love token meant dire consequences. Thus she named an impossible price: "30,000 yen upfront, and I get to hold the locket."

Flinching, Ranma produced money, and gently unclasped the metal chain around his neck. Letting Nabiki win like this bothered him, but he wanted to hurry.

Delicately counting her fee, amazed it had been met by a non-Kuno, the greedy girl snatched the locket out of Ranma's hand.

As her appraiser's eye analyzed, she immediately identified the silvery metallic chain. Recognizing intricately worked platinum, the Mercenary Tendo made a swift mental calculation. . . . . if he wasn't upset over the wedding, this stunt wouldn't bother Ranma one bit more!

Shoving the mysterious trinket inside her panties, and surprised at its warmth, Nabiki gave the answer: "You can find where the Temple of the Ghost Boar is at our wonderful local library!"

Not disappointed he had wasted yen or lost his trinket, Ranma left, gently closing the door behind him.

Slightly flushed, Nabiki noticed the charm locket caused her sensitive areas to slightly tingle, a most wonderful experience. She picked the doshinji back up, and settled down to enjoy herself.

Puzzled at the lack of protests over her obvious confiscation of such an expensive token, Nabiki noted the tingling gaining intensity...

---

Whistling as he walked out the Tendo gate, Ranma felt the familiar weight of the Amulet of Presence settle around his neck, accompanied by a muffled scream? The tomboy didn't sound like that, and he knew Nabiki wasn't in any danger, so he swiftly looked in on Kasumi in the kitchen.

Wrinkling her chef's nose at him, the eldest Tendo chided harshly, in a whisper, "You and Nabiki need to be more discrete!"

At his blank look, Kasumi sighed and explained: "I wash our sheets every weekend; as an unforeseen consequence, I know what my sisters smell like."

Blushing slightly, Ranma was halfway through a stammering explanation when a small blur entered the kitchen. It moved frighteningly fast, bouncing off two cabinets and an intractable obstacle before stopping on a countertop.

With a small footprint on his cheek, Ranma glared at Happosai, who contentedly rubbed Kasumi's panties, a random bra with little pigs on it, and the Amulet of Presence over his tiny body.

"Ah placid Kasumi, satisfied Nabiki." A mallet shattered the countertop as another enraged female made her presence known, "And rambunctious Akane makes three!" came a muffled voice from his attacker's cleavage.

"Give it back and get off, you pervert!" Pulling on the parasite occupying her chest, Akane succeeded only in making herself very uncomfortable. Happi's wandering hands had a firm grip.

"What's this?"

Noting the magical signature coming from the Nabiki-scented trinket, Happosai was oblivious as Akane extracted him and gently set him down. Backing up, and not questioning her luck, the girl used the same tricky half-sprint favored by multimillion-dollar professional football punters.

Turning to Ranma, and holding up the Amulet of Presence, which buzzed with magic, the withered grandmaster asked seriously, "The next time you and Nabiki go at it, can I watch?"

With a textbook connection, the old man went flying out the open kitchen door, up, up between the two telephone poles outside the Tendo compound in a perfect parabolic arc.

"Fierd-goal." Said Kasumi in passable English.

Knowing that she jumped to conclusions occasionally, Akane decided to give Ranma a little leeway. Turning to her older sister, Akane looked for clarification.

Like a Roman Empress, Kasumi signified the outcome by holding her hand out, thumbs down. Sadly, the substitute mother of the Tendo family shook her head.

Sensing danger, Ranma took one look at Akane's face and left in a massive sprint. This situation wouldn't matter tomorrow. After a hundred feet, a familiar weight settled about his neck as his kami-charm returned.

Sighing, Akane absently brushed away a tear. "That coward!" She muttered. "I guess it really is over between us." Defeated, the girl returned to her room, and fell into a depressed sleep, dreaming of flames and phoenixes.

----

"Shikoku!" Shouted Ranma in triumph. Two dozen maps and books were scattered across the sturdy oaken table in front of him. Shelves and shelves of books filled the room, interrupted by an occasional padded chair and reading alcove.

Three older people with glasses glared in irritation before returning to their novels and magazines.

"Sir, this is a library, please be quiet." Whispered a threatening figure that appeared beside Ranma in an instant. It was an old woman wearing a black kerchief pulled low over her face, like a burglar's mask. The rest of her conservative outfit, designed for economy of movement, was a tasteful dark gray, though she wore a cute pink button stating 'Read or Die' in kanji.

Elated at his discovery, he bowed low to the ninja-librarian and left with no further disturbances.

Upon exit, he began running, and with a mighty jump summoned a vacuum blade of gliding air.

--

Dusk settled in as Ranma landed in the general vicinity of Shikoku. Using the orange light of the setting sun to look his map, he muttered: "I knew I should have taken that right at Kanzaki!"

Shrugging, he tossed the useless piece of paper over his shoulder. He'd know for tomorrow.

"Ranma Saotome!" Yelled a voice from behind him in righteous anger. "It's not enough that you trifle with the hearts of women whose feet you are unworthy to kiss, but now you interrupt my contemplation of perfect zen!"

Brightening at the familiar voice, Ranma turned around and beheld his long lost friend Ryouga, wearing a familiar oversized map of Japan on his head. A convenient gust of wind brushed the chart away, sending it hurtling into the upper reaches of the sky.

"Hey buddy! Long time no see!" Feeling elated, Ranma realized how much he missed Ryouga over the years.

Wondering briefly at Ranma's reaction, Ryouga thought for once he wasn't the only one who had lost his way. The face of his rival openly welcomed him, like a long abandoned brother reunited with his twin; those emotions-- they could not be faked.

In a strange moment of clarity, Ryouga remembered Yoiko, his long lost sister, who turned out to be Ranma in disguise. He remembered a canoeing date that had been broken up by a strange person, who turned out to be Ranma in disguise. Other flashes of this recurring theme in his life, led to a decision involving a little pleasant closure.

Approaching his joyous nemesis, Ryouga punched Ranma as hard as could in the stomach.

Curled up on the ground, Ranma slowly calmed his dry heaves and looked up at his friend. Pain and fellowship tempered a long steely stare. "That hurt."

"It was meant to." Ryouga's calm voice hid his surprise. Ranma hadn't flown twenty feet in the air and broken into ten thousand pieces, like the last granite column he'd hit like that in the ruins of Sumatra.

After a comfortable silence, the two martial artists walked over to Ryouga's campsite.

Ranma did most of the talking, and the stars were out when Ryouga had worked his mind through the stories and experiences related to him.

"You, Ranma Saotome, are a spineless worm who can't decide between a gleaming pearl and the dross of the sea. How many years did you intend to string Akane, Shampoo, and Ukyo along? I didn't yield in the race to Akane's heart so your indecisiveness could drag it through the mud!"

Noting the shine of anger, and the fang sticking out of Ryouga's mouth, Ranma subserviently delivered his comeback.

"Ah, P-Chan, so your virtue has shown through, eclipsing my sordid existence. Do you want relish or barbecue sauce on your carcass when I watch you reveal your Jusenkyo curse to Akane? Trifling with her heart is wrong you know, I have it from the authority of a righteous and noble man."

As both tensed for the coming fight, Ryouga suddenly relaxed, leaning back on his pack.

"Normally I would fight you for such ignorance, but the kami have seen fit to punish you far worse than I. Tomorrow I will be in sweet Akari's arms, but tomorrow you'll relive everything again." Looking at his rival, Ryouga chuckled. "You create your own hells Ranma, that's perhaps the best lesson I've learned seeking my revenge."

Nodding solemnly, Ranma asked: "Any advice?"

Snorting contemptuously, the bandanna wearing man turned to his lost companion and replied harshly: "Get your head out of your ass and make a choice. Prolonging the inevitable doesn't stop the inevitable from happening; reality is an avalanche that way. While I understand the need of curing family curses, in the end such fool's quests are another form of running away. You're very good at running away Ranma. Make sure Akane is happy or I'll hunt you down across the ends of the Earth!"

Returning to a normal tone, the fanged one continued: "Oh, and the mayor of Shikoku can tell you about the Ghost Boar. It's a nice place; I visit every other time I go to Furinken High School. It's on the way."

--Next afternoon--

The mayor of Shikoku was a stooped over middle-aged hick who was balding at the top. He helpfully directed Ranma to where (and how) the Ghost Boar manifested.

They walked to a secluded clearing in the side of a terraced hill, about a mile away from Shikoku. The mayor pointed out a fairly large cave. The mouth of the cavern displayed a cute looking sign with a piggy on it. Mentioning the school took a yearly field trip out here, the old hick explained the legends surrounding this local landmark. Ranma, however, only registered one fact.

"What do you mean he only comes out of his cave during thunderstorms!"

Looking up the clear blue sky, Ranma knew Shikoku wasn't getting rain today.

Exploring the cave after the old guy left, Ranma easily found the back end. It wasn't special as small caves went. No intimidating rocky formations, no bats or insects. It resembled someone's front porch, and right now Ranma had no way of knocking on the door.

Disgusted as his focused ki-blast shattered tons of debris in the back of the cave, Ranma felt no spiritual presence approaching to investigate. The breaking point hadn't worked either.

How was he going to get thunder and lightning?

----

"I challenge you, oh Master of Voltage and Lights. How about the park two streets over, in ten minutes?"

The electrician nodded. It was not everyday a 'mainstream' martial artist called out a master of Martial Arts Wiring. Most fools knew better, but at least his advertisement in the phonebook was worth something!

Nodding in anticipation, the pigtailed challenger introduced himself: "Ranma Saotome."

"Seiji Yuusato." The polite reply hid the man's contempt well as they approached a wide-open area of Kyoto National Park.

Two joggers passed as the white-gloved professional electrician and the teenager in red Chinese clothing bowed respectfully. One of them had a walkman turned up very high, and a song echoed in the sunlit clearing: "Yap-pa Paa, Yap-pa Paa, Don't know what to do. My heart is not a game, it's all Mah-Jong to you..."

In the traditional opening of Musubetsu Kakuto Ryuu, Ranma waited calmly for his opponent's attack. Seiji met his eyes, and they tested each other with stares. Soon the joggers passed, the song fading away.

Sweating under the sun's warmth, the electrician blinked, and elected to begin.

A strand of black and red wiring behaving remarkably like Kodachi's ribbon flew towards Ranma, who easily flowed with it. Noting that wiring behaved slightly differently than cloth, he bobbed and dodged for a minute before understanding how plastic and metal changed a ribbon's movement.

When he effortlessly caught the weapon with his left hand, halting its momentum, his opponent smiled and flipped a switch on his utility belt.

Voltage surged through Ranma's body, causing his muscles to spasm and the hand holding the whip to uncontrollably twitch. With a mighty leap, he left the ground, leaving the electricity from the live wire no place to flow. Airborne, he vacuum-slashed the weapon, cutting the contact. A melted portion of the wire-whip remained fused to his palm.

Catching several mounting screws that served as his opponent's shuriken, Ranma frowned. His left hand spastically twitched and hurt like a dozen bees had stung it. With his right hand reflexively dodging, Ranma entered light meditation. Slowly the overloaded nerves in his body returned to normal while bathing in calming ki.

Ignoring the opponent is never a good plan, regardless of mastery. The huge squirt of glue hit the area around Ranma's feet, neatly entrapping them. Seeing his opponent stuck, the Electrical man brought his shortened wire-whip back around.

Conversationally, while Ranma dodged, Seiji gloated: "The glue trap is a fairly new technique; laying fiber optic cables was so frustrating our school immortalized it recently with this move. We call it the 'Stick-To-Your-Ground Attack.' "

With a precision flip, Ranma landed ten feet away on clean grass, leaving his footwear behind.

"Nice! But that counter only works once." Seiji expected his next shot to end it.

"It works all the time, if you don't have a glue gun!"

Noting his own mounting screw jamming the nozzle of the glue gun, the Master of Martial Arts Wiring tossed the device like a grenade. When it approached his impertinent challenger, Seiji touched a second button on his utility belt.

Leaping thirty feet, Ranma watched in satisfaction as the make-shift bomb exploded, drenching the area under him with glue. At the apex of his jump, he pitched another mounting screw with great velocity, forcing his opponent to dodge and adjusting his descent away from the sticky areas.

---

"Damn corporate types, no respect for the environment." A passing pedestrian spoke with conviction, after being splattered with glue.

"And when you have that outfit dry cleaned with twenty industrial solvents, you're a shining example?" His date sounded less than pleased, scratching at a glue-spot on her forehead.

Sighing, the salary man wallowed in misery. Not only was his suit ruined, but it looked like he wasn't getting that nooner!

As he wondered what else could go wrong, a flock of low-flying sparrows became lodged on his back.

---

Ducking his own mounting screw after Ranma's masterful dodge, the electrician scratched his head. His best moves had failed, and he could tell going hand to hand would be a mistake. While the young fellow was trapped in glue, he'd snapped his shortened wire-whip in pseudo-random patterns, breaking the sound barrier. Not one hit. Seiji knew himself outclassed.

"I guess the conventional techniques just won't work against you. Prepare yourself. The other guys said I could never get this to work, but I had a breakthrough last Tuesday. Behold the final attack of Martial Arts Wiring: The Twenty Thousand Volt Special!"

Interested, Ranma watched his opponent glow with what appeared to be an intermixing of electricity and ki. This was the move he needed.

Invoking the Essence of the Sea, he watched thirty seconds of needless posturing. With poses ripped off from popular sentai shows, Seiji tossed off a crackling ovoid of energy. A true ki-master could throw blasts without looking ridiculous, and he mentally downgraded the threat rating of Martial Arts Wiring.

With electricity crackling around the main ki-form like a rumbling cloud, the projectile streaked unerringly at Ranma's chest. Smiling and bracing himself, he prepared his body.

After a thunderclap, Ranma stared at the cloudy sky, his ears ringing. He lay on soft grass, and had briefly blacked out. Raising his head, he watched Seiji's face turn as white as his gloves. His hands still twitched in the traditional gesture of warding. Sparks played between outstretched fingers as the attack's dregs discharged.

Resuming focus, he understood. The ki flowed precisely; the electricity from the "20000 Volt Special" was another matter. Springing up, pigtail poofy from the voltage, Ranma stuttered at his opponent: "H-h-how av-about a draww?" He recognized Seiji wasn't able to use his ki-attack again. He'd return tomorrow, for another demonstration.

Seiji rapidly nodded. His battery packs were depleted, and he was not getting in grappling range of that monster! Telling himself he feared shocks from the ambient static, the electrician bowed. "Good match Saotome-san."

----

"Akane." Ranma said her name seriously, with great tenderness. They were walking home from school together, in a comparatively normal day.

"Yes, Ranma?" Her heart thudded in her chest; maybe this was it!

"The short version is I'm visiting a place apart from this world, and I'd like your blessing for this trip. No matter what though, I'll see you tomorrow."

Puzzled at the strange request, Akane nodded at Ranma. "Trying to cure the curse again? I'll tell Kasumi you won't be home for dinner."

-

"Ucchan." Ranma said her name seriously, with great friendship. He was sitting at her counter before the dinner rush.

"Yea Ranchan?" She leaned closer, this sounded important.

"I'm gonna go kick some kami-ass and dump this lame curse from my mother's side of the family. The catch is, I have to go to them."

Smirking at her fiancé, the chef cracked her knuckles and asked, "So when we leave?"

Answering the smirk with his own, Ranma told her. "I'm planning on around 10 am tomorrow. You can come with me if you can remember."

Fist clenching with determination, Ukyo exclaimed "I won't let you down Ranma-honey!"

-

"Shampoo." Ranma spoke her name with overtones of impatience and intimacy. He stood out behind the Nekohaten, near the garbage bin.

"Airen!" Exclaimed the Amazon as she hugged him tightly.

Unclenching her fingers, he spoke quickly in Mandarin. "Wanted to tell you I'm going to the kami-plane on unfinished business; I'd forgotten how immature you are when I don't defeat Cologne first."

Prying the girl off and roof jumping away, Ranma didn't hear her shouted warning: "My love, be careful, that world has worse traps than spirits and demons!"

-

Flying through the evening hues of reds and pinks, Ranma touched down at Fushimiinari. Hauling his burden with him, Ranma felt Kodachi's ki struggle within his prison of pressure points. Because her face was tied up securely with her black satin bedroom curtains, the demon inside didn't sense much.

When the Sanity Drinker came exploding outwards, the monks were on hand for exorcism, a matter swiftly dealt with by true professionals.

"Kodachi." Ranma spoke her name with wariness and respect. They stood under the stars, bathed in light from lanterns next to the ceremonial cleansing fountain of the shrine. Her tangled hair and pallid forehead gave her the 'wretched girl' look.

"I don't know how to thank you Ranma-sama. I'm not even sure what to think now; much of my older behavior wasn't me."

Curious, he replied, "You mean the 'fighting in all fairness,' the drugs, and underhanded tricks?"

"No, nothing like that! Obviously they didn't work because I was possessed!" Kodachi laughed, not a particularly nice laugh, but nothing like her previous trademark. "Ranma-dono, you have been my hero twice over, and I consent to anything you desire." Blushing demurely at the last word, Kodachi showed rare hesitancy.

One of the monks interrupted the awkward moment by asking Ranma how much he knew of Kamis and demons. Admitting general ignorance, Ranma named the books from Cologne's collection he had read in preparation.

Scowling at him, Brother Yojin launched a tirade against visiting the kami plane unprepared. He concluded with "We at Fushimiinari have the tools to make sure you can return relatively sane."

Sighing, Ranma absently shifted in Kodachi's embrace as she gently hugged him from behind. This might delay him further, but one thing he had in abundance was time.

--A great deal of days later--

The setting sun turned the sky into a portrait of burgundy and burnished orange, and Ranma completed the final tracery on his masterpiece.

Holding up the ki-forged ward of containment, made with inks of ash and tears, he inspected it a final time. Finding nothing wrong in the crisp calligraphy, with a small flourish Ranma presented to his gray robed instructor.

Examining the scroll-ward, the monk unfurled it at arms length and proceeded with the testing. A hungry, pestilent ki pulse struck the paper scroll in the center, and with a bright answering flash the darkness flew down into the floor, blackening a polished marble tile.

Carefully rolling the scroll back up, Brother Ichiro presented it back with due ceremony. "Congratulations, Saotome-san! We at Fushimiinari have nothing further to teach about creating sutras and supernatural wardings."

Bowing low, Ranma solemnly expressed his gratitude by maintaining the position for thirty seconds before speaking. He passed the time staring at the cracked and festering stone tile, wondering at the hardships his teacher endured to create that blast of malevolent bitterness.

"Thank you sensei, but according to the sacred books, I'm barely a novice with the intricate patterns." This statement brought a memory of a centennial pattern into Ranma's mind; the monks battled against creatures of dire prophecy, and they prepared powerful traps over hundreds of years.

"Nonsense, Saotome-san! You have mastered the rigor and concentration for proper construction; you merely must practice. One day you'll surpass us all! Maybe even this day, eh?"

"Perhaps. But I feel indebted to this shrine for sharing its knowledge, though tomorrow you will have forgotten me again, sensei."

"Do not worry student, the pattern of life flows in mysterious ways. If you wish to discharge your self-appointed debt, use our teachings well. Go and banish demons from this Edo."

"I will." Ranma bowed again briefly. "Could you answer one final question?" Demon wardings and banishments would make his life easier, but in mastering this new discipline Ranma found it incomplete. On the outer edges should lurk true magic, an answer to his dilemma.

Looking flattered, brother Ichiro inclined his head. "Of course, but enlightenment is elusive; my answer may be meaningless until you die."

Breathing deeply, Ranma asked his hopeful question: "What magic might help me leave this forever day? I had thought supernatural containment would be overflowing with magic, but it is a discipline like any other Art."

Pausing for minutes, Ranma's teacher of wards and traps answered: "The only magic you need, Ranma-san, is an unclouded heart."

Striving to hide his disappointment, Ranma Saotome left the Fushimiinari Shrine. With his pigtail swaying in the wind, he didn't look back as he passed through the sacred torii with heavy steps. The kami-planes awaited; perhaps his answer was there.

-

Another gray robed monk entered the testing chamber. Frowning at the blemished floor, he traced Purification in the air above the contaminated tile. With a flash of power, the smooth marble floor reflected the sunset in harmony again.

"Ah, Brother Ichiro, did your time-lost prodigy leave at last?"

Staring into the horizon through a secured window, Ranma's teacher moved into a better vantage point beside his senior. "Yes, but his spirit is clouded with false expectations. He believes he has not what he seeks, and therefore searches the wrong places."

"Much like poor Nasrudin. Was showing him so much wise? Such weapons are dangerous in the wrong minds. If he fails, the karmic repercussion will strike harshly."

"If he breaks his dilemma, we will have no need to worry. For his remarkable ability, he has yet to understand his self created contradictions."

Settling on the floor, the second monk spoke wistfully: "Unloading his heart requires making the choice deforming his inner aura. Apparently he has tried, only to be faced with the same choice again and again. His answer has not always been the same."

The issue discussed, the two monks assumed the half-lotus position and meditated as black twilight slowly overcame the fiery sunset.

-

Hours later, Ranma's teacher remained. Thinking of the dynamic man who had convinced him of the echoes between moments, and bemused such a one had come to him, of all people, for enlightenment, Brother Ichiro reflected upon his emotions.

Tranquility remained elusive, and his mind kept returning to a puzzle: 'So who will you chose as your love, Ranma Saotome?' A beam of moonlight illuminated the monk's shaved head, then slowly traced across the white marble floor as time passed.

Pondering the abstracts of time and choice while counting stars, Brother Ichiro wondered if his prodigy was already too spiritual to accept the inherent flaws in a human woman.

-----------------------------

next: "Open the Gate!"

-----------------------------

--Edo is an archaic Japanese term for 'world.' During the Edo Period (1603-1867) of Japanese history it referred to the capital city Tokyo, perceived to be the center of the world.

--sentai is a genre of Japanese television known for, among other things, transformation sequences with poses. #essay


	11. moments10

Kissaten – Japanese café, serves coffee or tea usually

(-ku) -- This suffix denotes the proper noun it is attached to is a Japanese place, usually a prefecture.

------------------

"Open the Gate!"

--------------------

Staring into the sky, blue beyond blue, Ranma Saotome inhaled the unspoiled Shikoku air. Bracing his feet in the small clearing outside the Cave of the Ghost Boar, he began. Calling ki, Ranma mentally tweaked until his spiritual electricity crackled sharply into the smell of ozone.

Extending his hands palms up in front, unlaunched attack ready; Ranma felt agitated air softly whirling around his body. His creation, making his pigtail float with static, reminded Ranma of a compressed Tesla Coil. The sphere of blue electricity pulsated with his heartbeat.

Searching for two seconds located his chalk-drawn target on a smoothed portion of stone, inside the mouth of the cave. It looked like Ryoga getting bit on his ass by a miniature P-Chan. Disregarding silly sentai poses, Ranma smirked, and used his will to send the 20,000 Volt special screaming ahead like a dozen launching fireworks.

A loud explosion shook the clearing outside the cave, and a small shockwave frightened three worm-hunting robins into flight. Blinking away an afterimage from his first 'knock,' a strange tingling in the air made Ranma think of a spirit ward's activation. His beautiful caricature had vaporized, unfortunately.

'Knocking' farther inside the cave, Ranma's refined senses noted electricity had been converted into a strange type of energy. Not ki, not spiritual defense or banishment, not demonic, but a new, unfamiliar power.

Approaching the strongest presence of this effect, he sensed an indistinct shape: an arched gateway -- a viaduct to Elsewhere. Not yet open, this portal blended in with the surrounding stone, but felt like a hole inside the world. Its hungry edges drew in and absorbed ambient ki, light, and heat like a spiritual void.

Ranma mentally twisted hard and initiated a voltage-based ki-beam into this disturbance's center. The light from cast off sparks illuminated the hidden corners of the cavern, and the visual effect was spectacular, like a low magnitude plasma discharge.

After absorbing power for minutes, the Gateway suddenly sprang into focus, and Ranma saw a meadow of red grass and a purple sky with four pale moons. This vista appeared on the cave's far wall, the one he'd smashed in frustration before learning the trick of ki-voltage.

Sweating profusely, Ranma felt exhaustion tinged with excitement. Right now he'd be worthless in a fight. Retreating half a mile outside, away from the unknown influences of the Gateway, Ranma Saotome Kissed the Face of Life, replenishing his energies.

After a timeless zen communion, he returned. The position of the sun in the sky indicated an hour had passed.

Pondering the stabilized Gate, which greedily sucked in heat, making the cave ten degrees colder than the lazy day outside, Ranma picked up a nearby flat rock. He hurled it at the portal, and watched as the strange red grass bent at its passing. With some careful searching, he tossed an annoyed spider through with the same mundane result. Feeling better, the kami-seeking martial artist took a running jump into the Gate, shouting in triumph.

With his mind blanked and prepared, Ranma smiled as he soared at the strange landscape. When his body touched the portal, the strange energy that composed it recoiled from his skin. Hundreds of vistas flashed past his eyes, each lasting microseconds, until the Gateway blanked out mid-passage.

Ranma did not notice; his head was immersed in lighted gray nothingness, and his senses could not process the overwhelming jumble of briefly being hundreds of places simultaneously. Simple momentum carried him through, and even more violent undulations thrashed the Portal's surface, until the last part of Ranma Saotome (his right heel) was no longer present on Earth.

Powers exhausted, the kami-gate returned to irregular stone. Stone that rippled slightly, and then became still. As for the person unlucky enough to use it last. . . . . .

F

a

l

l

i

n

g

He was falling into an endless gray sky. The confusing hodgepodge of sensory images from his transition faded, and he faced this new emergency. He could not see the ground.

Screaming lost its novelty, when Ranma remembered he could fly. Contemplation came hard, fighting against an odd sense of having done this before. Looking far into the gray felt like the yawning maw of an abyss: unnerving and humbling. Flinging ki about -- also useless. Ranma hoped the laws of the endless day held true, but his first thought had been on the relativity of time. Stranger and more reckless ideas came next.

Was he endlessly orbiting a strange planet, never to reach escape velocity, never to hit ground? A planet polluted with oxygen; what were the inhabitants like? Was the grayness from the ionization content of the atmosphere?

Or this was merely a test of worthiness by the kami! All foolish mortals seeking the unknown lands of afterlife must face this dilemma.

Perhaps this Viaduct acted like a reverse singularity, much like the event horizon of a black hole? Ranma knew enough physics to wonder at the how the rotational gradient of his entry might affect his physical perception of travel time. Or was this really a form of time travel?

Purgatory. That might be the name for this place.

--

He fell across a gray void, and had been for hours. He accepted that he fell, and had returned to the mystery of how exactly the rock and spider had made it across.

"Hello!" An impatient child-like voice distracted him from unproductive musings.

Squirming in the air, Ranma noted he was falling head first, while this newest arrival fell feet first. The visitor wore typical black school shoes with white laces.

Looking upwards, Ranma observed the voice belonged to an adolescent girl, who wore plain white panties. Modestly, she pulled in her skirt to cut off the view.

"Good, you aren't a statue or a woman." The girl sounded strangely relieved, and almost desperate as she appraised him.

"No worries. I'm Ranma Saotome, one hundred percent man!" Grateful for company, Ranma executed an aerial half-twist so he spoke to her face.

A typical student of the Japanese school system stared back. He didn't recognize the fuku color-coding; therefore she came from another prefecture. Shibuya-ku or Nishi-ku; maybe even Ota-ku guessed Ranma.

"Nice to meet you Saotome-san; I am Miyuki Kouda, but please, call me Miyuki. Don't think me forward, but please tell me how you came to this Tunnel-land?"

Ranma evaluated the ki-posture of his companion and found her to be slight clumsy with an aura of innocence and resignation. If she was kami, the disguise was good.

"Miyuki-san, I transfigured ki-projectiles into the electro-spiritual wavelength, and then used them to empower a known weak point between worlds, however a strange reaction happened." Seeing her eyes glaze over, and thinking his would have not long ago, Ranma changed the topic. "How did you get here?"

"Well this morning I woke up at 7:37, skipped my bath, and took a different direction to school than I normally do because this weird looking skateboarding girl in a bunny suit really creeped me out. I saw the cutest little cat by the side of a kissaten, so I followed him, and suddenly this strange woman who looked like me reached out of somewhere, grabbed me, and pulled me into a plate glass window outside a grocery store, and here I am!" She'd babbled the whole thing on one breath.

Miyuki's cheerful obliviousness didn't change the fact they were still falling through an endless gray sky.

Accepting the story, Ranma pondered their strange situation for three whole seconds before the schoolgirl reached out and grabbed him as tightly as she could, wrapping her legs around his back.

"Hey!" Ranma squawked as Miyuki's hands wandered downwards and groped, "Are you a pervert or something!"

"It's terrible!" She wailed into his chest. "It's like I've been caught in a never ending nightmare, and no matter where I turn after repeating the same morning, I'm in a strange world full of horny women!"

"At least you're not engaged to em." Muttered Ranma darkly under his breath.

"I don't like girls that way!" Responded Miyuki, who heard, and squeezed her new toy with emphasis.

Twitching in discomfort, Ranma gently reached down, pried Miyuki's fingers off, and took both their hands out of his pants.

"Okay," Drawled Ranma patiently, "Why don't we keep our hands to ourselves, and you can me all about those terrible women."

Miyuki began speaking incredibly fast, blushing because Ranma continued holding her hands. The highlights Ranma would later remember were a sentient door with interesting knobs, an embarrassing game of chess, an out of character Christian angel, and the Li sisters' special 'Heart' attack.

Time passed, and the gray void gradually became slightly pinkish. Finally Miyuki finished, and looked hopefully at Ranma.

"Mirrorland, Wonderland, Pearlyland.... I can't see why you would name this place 'Tunnel-land.' "Ranma finally said, thinking 'Wow! Another obsessive crazy chick!'

Apparently this wasn't the answer Miyuki had hoped for, as she wailed at him with teary eyes: "D-d-does this mean you ca-can't help me!!!"

"If I could have gotten out of here, I'da done it already! Now, um, Miyuri, please don't cry." Letting go of her hands, Ranma tried ejecting the schoolgirl from his personal space. Struggling merely caused her to latch on tighter, like a lamprey.

Then they both noticed he'd pushed her to arm's length by putting his hands on her breasts. To assure himself this was so, Ranma's hands squeezed involuntarily. This told him he indeed grasped undersized yet cushy female breasts.

Ranma's instincts replied 'Oops! Sorry about this disaster; it's your own fault you know.' He frowned in resignation, because the truth hurts at times.

Miyuki's mind purred: 'A man, a species of creature you haven't encountered in endless worlds, has made a move --- go Go GO!' She smiled benevolently, accepting salvation.

"Please, call me Miyuki-chan." Prompted the pleased girl, inhaling deeply, making her chest heave against Ranma's hands.

"Gah!" Ranma's mind overloaded and he let go. Miyuki-chan took this as an opportunity to cuddle, hugging him with an intensity that evoked memories of Amazons.

Enveloped, Ranma considered activating his curse, but he thought another such experience might scar a gentle girl for life. Then Miyuki's hands wandered down, and again, he felt very uncomfortably constricted, in an intimate manly way.

"That's it!" The words came out nearly an octave higher than usual. Regretting the necessity, (he wasn't about to use his Art on a distressed innocent, no matter how annoying), he triggered Jusenkyo with cold ki.

Withdrawing her fingers with gasping horror, Miyuki-chan observed the large pair of breasts now adorning the woman she had in a death grip. With a piercing shriek, she pushed off, and fainted in free fall.

"Wow." Said Ranma-chan in reverence, "That went much better than a shiatsu strike!"

The sound of clapping broke her sense of accomplishment, and Ranma maneuvered downwards again. She found herself face-to-spiked-cleavage with a strange woman, who happened to be dressed in a sexy dominatrix outfit made of red leather with lots of sharp looking metal points. The Queen of Hearts was a recurring motif across her costume, and she wore a jeweled golden crown embedded with a tiny ruby heart. The heart had a prominently embossed letter 'Q.'

"Bravo, young lady! That punishment was artistic genius! Weighty, pretentious, and mean! Now, lets cut this scene." Smirking, the red Queen cracked her crimson whip and the gray void vanished.

-

Disorientated, Ranma saw a fine red velvet tablecloth, complete with scarlet silk napkins arranged like roses, and realized she was now sitting. Rather cozily, at that. In an overstuffed red leather armchair inside a snug room wallpapered with hearts. Valentine's Day hearts, not bloody aortas, though strangely her danger sense told her the latter wouldn't have been out of place. Naturally, the rug on the floor was a dark burgundy. Through a window outside, Ranma saw snowflakes drift across a frozen forested landscape, carried by strong winds.

The Queen of Hearts sat on the other end of the table, and rang a tiny silver bell. Promptly, a black-haired girl in a black one-piece swimsuit wearing bunny ears and a cotton tail wheeled in a silver tea service from the room's open doorway. Efficiently, she deposited silver teacups at both ends of the table.

Ranma made a quick decision to play along, but not eat or drink anything, remembering the story of how Athena's daughter became trapped in Hades by six pomegranate seeds.

The bunny girl gently topped off the red Queen's tea, and walked three feet across the room before filling the silver teacup in front of Ranma's right elbow.

"What happened to Miyuki?" A slightly protective overtone in Ranma's voice started the conversation.

The red Queen sipped her tea before answering. "Oh, she'll wake up at 7:28am in her own bed, and will involuntarily decide to visit Chrome Castle through a tire hubcap two blocks from her school. The Silver Witch will be overjoyed!"

"Ah. I don't suppose you'd care to tell me exactly where I am?"

Looking pensive, the Queen of Hearts stared at Ranma, before speaking reflectively between sips of tea. "If you weren't a man, I'd punish you for such impertinence, but you have shown yourself a kindred spirit by participating in our little game."

Totally clueless, the red-headed girl nodded.

Donning a sophisticated pair of heart shaped, rose tinged spectacles (which weren't present two seconds ago), the Queen spoke in a lecturing, Victorian tone: "You have happened into a delicious Realm of Imagination, specifically one based off a bastardized version of Lewis Carroll's fable 'Alice in Wonderland;' I imagine you arrived by improperly grounding the Artifact of Traveling dissolved in your blood. We've spoken enough offstage; I must return to my role."

Noting Ranma's skeptical stare, the Queen of Hearts smiled, showing more teeth than a normal human woman, and said mysteriously, "These are very special rose colored glasses, they only show what truly Is."

"Do you know how I ended up in the Gray?" Falling into an endless tunnel was to be avoided in the future.

Having finished her tea, her majesty slid out of her chair and made her glasses into a ruby covered whip with a negligent hand-wave.

"Simple beginner's mistake: finding yourself on a neutral mindscape."

Thoughts scrambling, Ranma-chan watched her Highness of Hearts forcefully shove the handle of her whip between the bunny girl's legs, causing a piercing scream.

Before exiting the room, the Queen spoke imperiously: "My, that punishment caused her to shout. Now for those who haven't painted the snow red. . . . . they owe me the use of their heads! Please, find your own way out."

Wondering when the conversation degenerated into rhyme, Ranma reluctantly left the comfortably overstuffed chair. Concerned, she checked on the serving girl, who was moaning and clutching herself on the floor.

After making sure the girl was not injured, Ranma inquired, "Ah, excuse me, miss are you Ok?"

"Punishment is pleasure. Pleasure is pain. Pain is punishment." Responded the prostrate girl breathlessly, her hands clenching the burgundy carpet tightly.

Having a feeling they were conducting two separate conversations, Ranma asked anyway: "I don't suppose you could tell me what the Queen meant earlier?"

Sitting up slowly, the dazed girl hands reached out and tweaked her rescuer's breasts with her index fingers, like pushing two large buttons. "I will if you punish me." Her sultry voice, made Ranma nervous, especially when the girl began tracing patterns on her rescuer's stomach, which was conveniently in front of her face.

Backing away, Ranma distanced herself, making sure the table with the silver tea service was between them.

"First tell me your name, please."

Sitting up and stretching, accentuating her own breasts, pointedly visible through her black swimsuit, the girl who wanted punishment parried, "Do not fear; I am the March Hare."

"So 'March Hare,' if I punish you by pleasure or pain, you'll tell me what I want to know?" Sounding resigned, Ranma-chan noted the other girl had started stalking after her. She noticed the room's door, which the tea service had been wheeled in through, had mysteriously vanished

"Pleasure is proffered, and I so promise." The Hare closed the distance between them, darting to the other side of the tea table, around an overstuffed red leather armchair.

Taking the statement for confirmation, Ranma switched to male with a touch of hot ki. Gleefully, he blasted away with the Chilling Lips of Death. If this was an elaborate test by the kami, they would find Ranma Saotome didn't back down!

---

Cutting off the higher ki attack, Ranma glared at the perspiring girl, "How exactly do I 'show myself out,' and stop calling me Mistress!"

The March Hare smiled, a sly sneaky smile. "Princess, only an uncultured moron who couldn't understand a come-on would feel distress. Choose to use the device inside your blood, or reside and entice and watch my floods."

"I didn't understand any of that at all!" Shouted Ranma in exasperation. "Don't call me 'Princess' either."

Squirming out of her black one-piece, the nude (except for a hat) bunny girl was revealed to have a real rabbit's tail. Naturally this raised a question of whether the long pink ears on her hat were part of her head. Tossing her garment away, the March Hare began crawling towards Ranma whimpering, "Understanding is late; It's late! Another punishment is my poor fate!"

Feeling used, Ranma invoked the Chilling Lips for minutes, and watched the Burgundy rug under the March Hare dampen into darker red. When the ki-stream faded out, the Ranma noted the Hare's smile showed more teeth than a normal human should have.

"Explain 'device inside your blood.' " Demanded Ranma, who wasn't exactly controlling events. This time the March Hare had called him 'Queen.'

The eyes of the naked creature in front of him unfocused, and the ears on her hat twitched at him. Then she began chanting: "A looking glass which lets one pass, across space and time at the pace of rhyme. By blood and tears it repeats your fears for countless years. A perverted gnome, whose hands will roam granted this ability with philosophic senility."

Without additional prompting, Ranma used the Chilling Lips briefly. The March Hare gave a long keening scream before getting to the point.

"Your artifact has consequence dear; Nanban Mirror, take you there!"

An angry red aura sprang up around Ranma Saotome, giving even the March Hare pause. Hesitantly, the bunny girl reached out and touched the bloody energy. She smiled as it burned her hand.

Attempting to master his frustration with inward meditation, Ranma supposed he should have interrogated Happosai years ago. Happi claimed responsibility, but Ranma believed it was some stupid magic spell. Why? Because he listened to the perv! The Nanban Mirror was a -Dangerous Artifact.- Once it had almost stranded him in ancient China, and he still remembered his panic and despair -- never to see Akane or his family because he would die before they were born.

No wonder the perverted little jerk had been so accommodating. Wondering darkly if Happosai had plans to get a reformed Nanban out of him later, Ranma decided he should immediately learn how to access the mirror's powers.

His angry aura died, ten minutes after this newest revelation.

Returning his attention outward, Ranma noticed he smelled like cheap perfume, and the March Hare had wrapped herself intimately around his legs. Glancing down at her, Ranma allowed part of his irritation to show by snarling, "No more rhymes!"

"I want to be punished again, I've been bad by rubbing my scent over you." Declared the Hare petulantly.

"Well I'm tired right now, I don't suppose a trade of information is possible?" Asked Ranma while shaking the rabbit-girl off. Besides being emotionally drained, The Chilling Lips of Death -was- a higher ki-attack, and he had used it multiple times for long periods. Replenishing ki from the ambient energies in such a strange place was ill advised.

"Tell me your true name, and I'll answer the five questions my Queen." Said his willing love bunny, who had settled for wrapping herself around his left ankle and crossing her legs twice, making her impossible to dislodge.

Not seeing the harm of it, he growled back promptly while lifting his left leg in a rapid series of side kicks, "Ranma Saotome, and get off!"

"I am trying, my Queen." Replied the Hare as she pushed against his ankle with a rhythm while suspended upside down two feet in the air. She had rather enjoyed the motion from the kicks.

Assessing the situation, Ranma brought his leg down until he stood on his left big toe, and with a prodigious jump, left the Hare cuddling his left shoe as he flipped safely over the tea table. Immediately, he began rattling off questions, hoping they worked as a distraction.

"First question: how do I ground myself?"

A disappointed March Hare stood up, Ranma's shoe sticking out of her, and answered: "Think of home."

"Second question: how do I avoid neutral mindscapes?"

Removing the shoe, the bunny-girl answered: "Think of where you want to go."

"Third question: how do I use the Mirror to travel?"

Fiddling with his shoe, the Hare responded: "Use the right kind of energy."

Remembering the weird feel of the energies around the kami-gate, Ranma thought he could duplicate them with time.

"Fourth question: can you Travel too?"

Smirking, the March Hare threw the shoe right at Ranma's face, only to appear in front of him and catch it. Holding it up, she offered it to him reverently. He noted it smelled strongly of cheap perfume.

"Um. . . . you can keep it." Backing away at a measured pace, Ranma struggled with a good final question.

Matching his retreat with small teleports, the disturbingly persistent woman smiled a happy, toothy smile.

"Last Question: how can I break a time repetition?"

Pausing momentarily, her ears twitching in thought for two seconds, his stalker answered, "It is merely a matter of will."

Letting out a whoop, Ranma hugged the March Hare unexpectedly, surprising her with a role reversal. He could leave his endless day with will! More importantly, he understood exactly how to open the connection to the kami plane without further mishaps.

Ironically, his day ended as he raised his fist in triumph while clutching a stunned bunny girl, and the triumphant dimensional blunderer again found herself in the Tendo koi pond.

Feeling her new Queen vanish, the March Hare made a strangled longing noise. She wanted to be punished more! "Ranma Saotome, I declare you my new liege!" Proclaimed a semi-sated play-bunny, who really was a strange species of reverse succubus. Then she vanished too.

Incalculable troubles were later attributed to this.

-----

He rested one day: sleeping in Hinako's classroom, enjoying Kasumi's beef bowl, tripping up Nabiki in her own logical paradox, kicking his father's tail, talking about mythology with Ucchan, and ending the day with Shampoo.

He now had the power to end the repetitions, but still tasks remained to be accomplished: The Bane of Heirs, the deal with Yusaku, and choosing his wife. Soon, his life would be normal again. . . . . Well; less abnormal.

----

This time Ranma properly activated the portal, grounding his internal Nanban Mirror. He concentrated on his room inside the Tendo compound while calling ki-lightning. Again the Gate opened, but this time, the scene was of a pastoral meadow under a blue sky, not unlike the picturesque Shikoku landscape outside.

Bracing himself, after tossing a triangular rock through, Ranma jumped through the gate thinking of his errand on the Kami planes. . . . . . and landed right next to a cluster of rice plants. Looking back over his shoulder, he saw a hovering Window showing the insides of the Cave of the Ghost Boar.

Giddy with relief, he reverently kissed the ground, and began looking for guidance. He had not thought much to what happened next and had little idea of how to proceed. Maybe the locals could help?

Ranma had not taken three steps when an angry basso rotundo rumbled from above: "WHO DARES TRESPASS?"

Looking up, Ranma beheld a giant pig, larger than the Orochi, which he surmised to be the Ghost Boar. However, he had been accused of trespass by the Ghost Boar's _rider_, a fifty foot tall giant wearing archaic armor made of living trees. Literally living trees, with birds nesting in the branches.

Staring up at the gargantuan mounted warrior, Ranma yelled back using a deafening ki-voice: "Ranma Saotome dares, and apologizes for any insult. I thought this the realm of the Ghost Boar, Sir."

The colossal sight in front of him vanished, and Ranma found himself facing a distinguished looking bearded Japanese gentleman, perhaps in his late forties, dressed in purple Imperial robes.

"Welcome to this Realm, Ranma Saotome, son of Genma and Nodoka. I am Ame-No-Oshido-Mimi, son of Ameratsu, and I can see from your thoughts that this was an honest mistake."

Listening, Ranma was almost overcome by what he would later describe with inadequate words as divine splendor. For now, he settled for remaining speechless.

"Ah, it has been long since I interacted with under-developed beings, and I have forgotten what protocols are used. I will attune this portal gate so my steed can still enjoy his frolics, but it will open towards a proper pathway in the Kami Realms for you alone. Please exit now, and use the Gate again."

Ranma moved back to the portal while wondering if this would also become a repetitive encounter.

Ame-No-Oshido-Mimi frowned slightly and spoke directly into Ranma's mind. "I doubt you will see me again, child. Here is good advice: stop thinking you are invincible. You were too quick in accepting the Amulet of Presence from that banished trickster Yusaku because you believed yourself safely isolated from the consequences. Your recklessness showed when you skirmished with a Sanity Drinker and were almost eradicated from existence. When dealing with Power, remember your place!"

Ranma could have sworn Ame-No-Oshido-Mimi shoved him into the hovering Window, but in re-entering the Cave of Ghost Boar, he simply accepted events.

Shaken, Ranma found Ryouga wandering the outskirts of Shikoku and goaded the lost boy into sparring, but he still couldn't forget the shining presence of the man in Imperial robes. Feeling oddly compelled, he later made offerings at Shinto temples in the name of his benefactor.

-

Eventually, he consulted the local library, and Ramna found Ame-No-Oshido-Mimi was the son of Ameratsu who refused to rule the Kingdom of Earth.

-----

Hoping for no further unnecessary detours, Ranma opened the Kami path while thinking of home. A strange crossroads appeared, with worn dirt roads in the eight directions of a compass. A wooden signpost in the perfect center of the crossroads was covered in faint, unreadable markings.

Entering properly after replenishing his energies, no strange spirits or gods immediately came to bedevil Ranma. Instead, he spent a half hour puzzling out the blurred, archaic kanji on the crossroads marker.

The translation: "The moon wades the ocean's depths while stars probe the Earth's black lakes. Men's feet sink in swamps of sorrow, seeking the uncharted beyond."

While evoking the contemplation of his mortality, and making him feel the unearthliness of this realm, the signpost gave no directions.

Picking the southwest road, Ranma began walking. This direction held the greenest grass, and was the most inviting of the eight paths.

Though oddly well maintained, the beautiful flowers covering the landscape and rolling hills on either side of the path emitted vibes of desolation, as if their wholesome appearance was merely illusion. Still, after starting down this road, Ranma thought this direction seemed like a good idea

He didn't realize this decision wasn't his own.

-

After a couple hours, the first creature he met was an oni with no horns. A whole three feet tall, it gibbered excitedly upon spotting him. Maybe this was its territory or something.

Snarling at his approach, the chibi-oni ran away when he glared back.

A little later, Ranma finally made out some forbidding red-topped mountains in the distance. A brackish, semi-polluted stream full of ashes flowed to the west. Observing oppressive dark clouds of volcanic cinders on the horizon, his danger sense suddenly flared, and he ducked a pitchfork attempting to spear his head like shish kabob.

Fifteen oni appeared in a loose circle around him on the beaten dirt road. Standing eight feet tall, they looked like over-muscled hairy apes with a boar's tusks, goat horns, and lots of sharp teeth. Thirteen monstrosities in dark black robes wielded spear-type weapons: pitchforks, tridents, chained sickles, and nagi-natas. The largest elephantine brute, standing ten feet, carried a zanbatu, a great sword as long as he was tall. The hornless runt looked out from behind the oni-behemoth's right leg and presented the red-eye.

"Do any of you speak Japanese?" Ranma's hopeful inquiry caused a hearty round of growling. Somehow he doubted yelling 'nice doggies' would help.

"What business does a living man have on the road to Hell?" Called a rough voice to his left.

"I'm looking to remove a curse." Replied Ranma humbly. Oni began hungrily licking their weapons in anticipation, coating the cruel metals with poisonous saliva.

A reply was snarled back: "Then you should have taken the northern road to Ne-no-kuni, and not the Path of Good Intentions. While your soul doesn't smell evil, you've performed enough indirect thievery and hurtful indecision that it won't stick in the craw. Been a long time since me an' the boys had fresh meat."

The oni-pack rumbled agreement, moving in. After two seconds, they returned invisible, making Ranma's danger sense scream.

Frantically dodging, the hard-pressed martial artist unleashed his most recklessly violent move: the Kijin Dai Ran Bu (Demon God Mad Dance). Chi induced vacuum blades whirled chaotically outwards from his body, as he spun madly around spear points, chained sickles, and trident tines thrust at him with inhuman speeds.

Parts of weapons and devils littered the ground when he stopped fifty seconds later.

The ten foot tall oni leader uncrossed his arms, his great sword shattered beside him. The small hornless oni cowering behind his elephantine legs seized this as the perfect moment to run away. Shaking his long beard of tangled hair out, the huge devil rolled its neck, cracking the vertebrae.

Looking with ki-vision, Ranma could tell the oni-leader's immense spiritual aura had deflected the random vacuum slashes of the Demon God Mad Dance. Appraisingly, Ranma asked, "Why are we fighting?"

The large horned creature rumbled, "Strife is what I am."

Nodding, Ranma replied, "Then I challenge you. If you win, you can eat my soul; but if I win, before your stinking carcass dissolves, you'll tell me where in Ne-no-kuni I go for curse dispelling."

Knowing he would have to fight anyway, Ranma had decided to control the situation.

"Fine. Be a good meal and die!" Shooting a massive lightning blast at Ranma's face with his horns, the devil flew into the air and began gathering killing ki for a higher magnitude attack.

Bending almost completely backward to avoid the crackling bolt, Ranma prepared a quick and dirty cleansing procedure he'd learned at Fushimiinari.

Leaping back up with a glimmering fist of righteousness, he faced the massive aerial oni in the midst of accumulating evil energy. Releasing the banishment forth, Ranma yelled "Aku Soku Zan!"

A beam of purification flowed into the nexus of evil power, briefly halting its expansion before dissipating. Ranma wondered at his wisdom of invoking banishment to Hell when already in Hell (or at least close by).

Pondering his next move, Ranma watched the huge oni climb three hundred feet higher into the air. A black globe of evil, killing power as wide as a small Buick hovered in front of the devil's body.

Not wanting the ground's vulnerability, Ranma ran, dodging the small black spheres the hovering oni began hurling down. Whenever the darkling raindrops touched the ground, the stink of corruption oozed out as dirt smoked ominously.

The vacuum envelope formed around him, and he launched himself unwaveringly vertical, traveling through and above the unnatural storm. Dark killing energy surrounded his ki-shield until the he was a corrupt ovoid shooting into heaven. Pulsing his aura with overtones of love and exaltation, Ranma evaporated the festering darkness.

Completely cleansed thousands of feet above his adversary, Ranma poured his heart and soul into the very front of his vacuum bubble. Higher emotions glinted in metaphysical sharpness as he launched himself down towards the master devil.

Sensing a righteously vengeful meteor, the fiend dismissed the evil rain and condensed his dark power into a cloud hundreds of feet across centered on him. From his heart of darkness, the devil sent a sustained blast of vile murder at Ranma's descending form.

With a thousand feet separating the two combatants, the plague beam hit the edge of Ranma's vacuum bubble and split into two halves from the glistening purity. The resistance slowed his descent slightly, and he realized this course was a final strike. Pushing against this current of darkness would completely consume his energies.

At five hundred feet, he thought of the woman he truly loved, and Nodoka's smiling face brought renewed determination.

At three hundred feet he wondered if this entire fight had been a reckless mistake, then sealed a crack in his ki-bubble before it shattered from self-doubt. Doubt wasn't allowed if he expected to succeed.

At one hundred feet the devil yelled "Die!" and his progress was completely halted for several seconds by a new rush of bleakness. Reaching deep within, Ranma forced his way down again.

At ten feet he saw the smiling bloody eyes of evil reveling in dark glory.

Then it was over. The supernaturally sharp edge of his frontal vacuum shield cut the oni into two halves. Without a malevolent will to guide it, the cloud of evil began slowly dispersing.

Exhausted and triumphant, Ranma landed on the festering ground beside the top half of the bisected fiend. Stepping back quickly, he allowed the remains of his vacuum shield to shatter from the pervasive darkness. The power left was too tainted to reabsorb.

Glaring at the pained remainder of the devil, Ranma demanded: "Vanquished one, hold to our bargain!"

Laughing weakly, the oni whispered, "Take the northern road into Ne-no-kuni and seek Su-san-ou!" Before breaking into a coughing fit.

Satisfied the devil had little life remaining, Ranma couldn't understand why it continued laughing after the hacking coughs had passed.

Then he felt evils approaching on the edge of his perceptions. Less than a mile away and closing fast.

Groaning softly, he realized fighting a huge flashy battle on the edge of Hell wasn't very smart. Now exhausted without enough power for a major attack, he was easy game. The ambient energies would immediately corrupt his soul if he tried Kissing the Face of Life. Who knew how many more powerful fiends, onis, and devils were coming?

Panicked, Ranma started running back down the Path of Good Intentions. His senses screamed oceans of evil would possess this location soon.

He thought about trying to channel ki into the Amulet of Presence, but he wasn't sure if demons could be considered kami. Such uncertainty caused him to abandon the idea until it became a last resort.

Suddenly an over muscled thirty-foot demon with a lizard's head appeared and punched him into the air faster than he could register the blow.

Easily matching his upward velocity, the beast drew even with him and hissed malevolently, "Little mortal your time is nigh, nothing will stop us from consuming all that you are."

Reaching for reserves he only hoped would answer; Ranma retaliated with the Sharp Edge of Nirvana. A dozen tendrils of ki, different in intensity, emotion, and polarity struck the infernal thing. Desperation, hope, rage, anger, acceptance, righteousness, determination, ego, fear, exaltation, exhaustion, sadness, and love; each streamer of ki sizzled against the immense body of the greater demon.

It laughed merrily at the ineffectiveness of the attack, and kicked Ranma hard with a clawed foot, snapping two ribs and leaving three bloody nail punctures in his stomach.

Traveling farther upwards, Ranma felt his body moving faster than he'd ever imagined. He knew the demon was playing with him now, and he watched it chase after him, far below.

Breathing hurt now.

Based on rate of ascent and the devil's relative speed, the analytic part of Ranma's brain informed him he had less than two minutes to live. Absently, he smelled his clothing smoldering from the frictional air resistance, but ignored it thanks to the phoenix pill from long ago.

Irrelevant thoughts entered his mind, like how much atmosphere did the Kami-realm have? On Earth the oxygen would be long gone if he had flown this high. Did the sky of the Kami have stars?

Would the Nanban Mirror save him if demons feasted upon his soul? Arguably he was already in a metaphysical realm, might this change the outcome? Surviving the demise of his body might be completely different than living after his soul was devoured. Betting his existence on such a question would be incredibly stupid.

Feeling himself slow, Ranma watched the slavering maw of the demon-dragon approach. At least it looked more like a dragon now; parts of it flickered as if it was reshaping itself.

Not much time left.

Closing his eyes, Ranma thought of his room at the Tendos, how it felt like his home after ten years of training and wandering. He imagined himself falling into the koi pond, and waking up. Just like happened every morning for uncounted years.

With no dregs of ki left, Ranma drew upon the muted life force inside his body. Such blatant disregard for his own health might kill him, but physical death could be survived, while soul death remained unknown.

Sparks danced around Ranma's flying body, as he struggled for the right sensation to activate the Nanban Mirror suspended in his blood. Like what he'd felt when empowering the Gate.

Nothing worked.

Opening his eyes, and frantically thinking of home with what he prayed were the correct energies surrounding him in a corona, Ranma watched his adversary open its mouth impossibly wise. Looking down the monster's throat, he saw only a dark starless tunnel, not the pinkish orifice of a mortal digestive tract.

The Hell-spirit had now matched his speed.

When he felt acid melting his heart of hearts, as the jaws of the great reptile began shutting, Ranma instinctively knew he faced total obliteration. No last minute salvation, this time. No waking up in the koi tomorrow.

Still thinking of home, Ranma felt the ethereal fangs of a Greater Duke of Hell piercing his soul. He shed a single tear, regretting he'd never again see those he loved.

A single, special tear.

With this small, understated catalyst the Nanban Mirror answered Ranma's wish, leaving an ancient evil chewing on empty air.

---

Ramna hit the Koi pond going hundreds of miles per hour, leaving a large crater on the bottom and killing five unlucky fish. Whatever other tricks the mirror might perform; reducing transition momentum wasn't one of them. His body used the last of his life-force fueled corona to cushion his impact.

The noise of the splashdown attracted the attention of the entire Tendo clan and his father. It was late evening, and the family had just finished Kasumi's dinner.

Everyone came rushing out of the house, and Akane dragged her unconscious floating fiancé out of the pond. CPR was unnecessary, though they cleaned and bandaged the puncture wounds in Ranma's stomach.

-

His body a massive bruise; Ranma's first sight upon regaining consciousness on the Tendo couch was the concerned face of her father. Surprised that the old fool actually cared, she groaned after poking her wounds experimentally, not noticing Soun turning off the television.

She tossed off the blankets Kasumi had covered her with, and tried to stand. Those three surprise concussions she now knew she had convinced her not to.

"What happened boy!" Yelled Genma, getting in her face. The loud noise made her wince, but the bleary red-head recognized contempt mixed with concern. In past situations like this, the old man had always overridden his parental inclinations with angry annoyance Ranma hadn't mastered the Art.

Looking at her father, Ranma replied softly, "I completely, utterly, lost. I barely escaped from eternal death with my soul intact."

Blustering put aside, the elder Saotome looked at his child for once, without preconception. "What kind of demon did you fight?" He asked seriously.

"Well after using the Demon God Mad Dance on the pack of oni, and then defeating their leader, I ran away from this huge gray green lizard dragon. Remember that Muscle Sword guy from the Jusenkyo Preservation Society? This thing had more defined muscles in its left knuckle than in his entire body."

"Goodness!" Exclaimed Kasumi, who had thoughtfully brought lemonade and cookies now that Ranma was up.

"I don't suppose you know who called these creatures forth?" Genma's fear showed. The largest demon he'd ever banished was a six-foot long hell-centipede.

Knowing the meaning behind the panicky look on her father's face, Ranma sighed. "Don't worry pops, all the devils are back in Hell now, so the neighborhood is still safe. You don't need to hide away in Osaka like a whipped little dog."

The blustering anger on Genma's face now barely covered relief.

"But Ranma, you said you had completely, utterly, lost!" Soun held up Nabiki's tape recorder, and hit the play button.

A soft, hurting voice, Ranma dubiously recognized as her own spoke back: "I completely, utterly, lost. I barely escaped from eternal death with my soul intact."

"I did lose!" Barked the beaten girl; annoyed she had to defend a glaring failure from misinterpretation. "That stupid demon-dragon moved faster than I could follow, and then laughed off the Sharp Edge of Nirvana!"

"The Master's secret Ace!" Gasped Soun and Genma in tandem, recognizing a technique they both had once aspired to learn.

"But Ranma," asked Kasumi politely, "Being so over matched, however did you manage to stop the demon?"

"Simple, "chuckled Ranma, wincing in pain, "I didn't stop it."

"Does this mean we should say our prayers and hope our deaths won't be lingering?" Inquired Kasumi with a slight touch of concern.

"You shouldn't worry about it. I fought those demons on the outskirts of Hell, not in this world."

Nodding, Kasumi left the thoughtful snack and retired to her room where the interesting medical books waited.

"What the hell were you doing in Hell, boy!" Genma sounded furious; Ranma had never seen her father get so worked up when food wasn't involved.

Deciding on the short version, she answered darkly: "It was Happosai's fault!"

Soun nodded sagely, having once faced a horde of rampaging Valkyries missing their stylish metal bikinis. Those Norse women sure hit hard!

"I warned you before about angering the master boy! See what his displeasure brings?" Ranted Genma.

"Yes, he is to be feared, and disposed of safely when unaware!" Added Soun with teary emphasis as he rotated in place, making sure Happi wasn't standing close, witnessing his sedition.

Seeing how easily her father and Mr. Tendo dismissed the incident when Happosai was named, Ranma wondered what else the old letch could have done?

After a short silence, the older men announced they were going drinking at a new bar they'd seen advertised on T.V. while waiting, not that they had been concerned.

"Feel free to take advantage of my daughters, son." Encouraged Mr. Tendo on his way out. "Why Akane should be sound asleep right now!"

Right before sliding the door shut, her father added: "Yes, boy, hurry and join the schools. Nothing like a woman to help forget your injuries!" Genma's wisdom was dubious at best.

Lying back down on the couch, glad the morons left; Ranma wasn't surprised at being alone. The old fools were superstitious about partying after another of Happosai's schemes was revealed. She suspected they celebrated because most of their Master's mischief no longer involved them, and going out drinking was a way to escape Happi's notice if he was occupied elsewhere. Pathetic cowards.

Shivering alone on the couch in the empty Tendo living room, the Ranma sighed. She hadn't enough ki left to activate her Jusenkyo trigger or even kick-start a spiritual replenishment, Gemna had eaten all of Kasumi's cookies, and most importantly, she didn't to be alone.

"Stupid post-traumatic psychological stress." Muttered Ranma, who had read up on combat disorders.

Where were the fiancées anyway? Nabiki usually called them immediately whenever crap like this happened.

Slowly Ranma balanced on the edge of the couch, thankful she had gotten a glass of Kasumi's lemonade earlier. That good sugary energy helped stop the room from spinning when she forced herself to stand.

Hobbling up the stairs, ten minutes of pain found a redheaded girl hesitating outside Akane's door. The tomboy slept, and Ranma considered the consequences of asking if it was OK to sleep with her. Just sleep. No, really Akane, just sleep! Dammit, I'm not a pervert, just hurt!

Shuddering, Ranma decided she wasn't physically ready for the inevitable misunderstanding and observed Nabiki's door, down the hall.

A verbal confrontation was doable. Opening Nabiki's door, Ranma noted the mercenary Tendo slept neatly under her single sheet and blanket. The alarm clock Nabiki never used read 12:21am.

Shuffling inside, clenching her stomach to minimize the pain from the puncture wounds, Ranma gently laid herself down next to the sleeping girl.

Curling against her companion, Ranma succeeded in waking Nabiki up.

Never one to instinctively resort to violence, but also a woman who placed high priority on her personal space and comforts, Nabiki squirmed around to ascertain who would dare bother her! Even Happosai left her alone after she had threatened him with the police and promised to look the other way if Kasumi and herself were safe at night.

"Oh; it's you Ranma." Anger mostly vanishing, Nabiki disentangled herself from her uninvited guest, and sat up.

"I don't wanna be alone now Nabiki; I nearly died earlier and I feel terrible." Making herself more comfortable, the wounded girl stole the blankets.

"Sympathies. But you can't stay. Now get up, or I'll start tickling you, which will cause really, really painful laughter with three bloody stomach wounds." Poise restored, the mercenary Tendo proceeded to take control.

"How much?" Asked the entrenched redhead, who didn't wish to move.

Nabiki shuddered involuntarily, waiting for Akane to burst in and jump to conclusions: Ranma sprawled in her bed late at night, asking her 'how much' while they were both in compromising positions. Of course it was perfectly innocent!

When her little sister didn't show, Nabiki shook her head. "This one isn't for sale. I'm still on Akane's bad side from The Wedding a few days ago; remember? Why do you think I didn't call Ukyo and Shampoo earlier?"

Ranma barely remembered the failed wedding, which to her, happened years ago.

However, when Nabiki began poking her in a ticklish way, Ranma vacated the bed. A trained martial should be able to control her own tickle response, but an Artist of War always chose the right ground.

If Nabiki made her laugh, it would really hurt. The devious Tendo wouldn't take long to realize which jokes appealed to her sense of humor. Wearily, Ranma ignored a whispered suggestion to 'go sleep with Akane,' and slowly trudged through the house, until she stood outside Kasumi's door.

Knowing the eldest Tendo's habits, Ranma hoped this didn't embarrass both of them as she softly entered.

Thankfully Kasumi was reading a thick book and hadn't taken her favorite diversion out. Startled at being interrupted in her sanctum, the passive Tendo put down her volume. "Why whatever are you doing here so late Ranma?" Annoyance tinged Kasumi's voice, and for once she didn't smile.

"I'm hurt, I have concussions, I have bloody holes in my stomach, and there is no way I am gonna be alone now Kasumi. Akane is too touchy, and Nabiki said 'no,' so you're stuck with me for tonight." And I ain't too coherent either, added Ranma mentally.

Taking advantage of the older girl's compassion and kind nature, the hurting martial artist gently laid down next to Kasumi.

"But it's just not proper!" Exclaimed the dutiful housekeeper, now actually a little angry.

"Neither is using that little black tube in your drawer every day, but this isn't for pleasure. I ain't doing this to piss you off Kasumi; I just want help."

"Well.. . . " Sounding less angry, the older girl wasn't convinced. She looked longingly at the drawer by her nightstand.

"Look, you wake up first anyway; you can say you found me on the couch and helped me move here because I was too hurt to be bothered in the morning."

"That does sound reasonable." Said Kasumi, who still thought it wasn't.

Getting comfortable in Kasumi's blanket, Ranma added, "Geez, if you still want to use your vibrator tonight, don't let me stop you."

"No, that would be socially awkward with a guest present. Tomorrow will be a new day; Ranma, you owe me really big favor for this!" Putting aside her book, Kasumi turned off her reading light.

"No problem Kas-chan, I'll make it up to ya. I wish my real fiancées were more like you." Snuggling closer to the eldest Tendo, Ranma-chan became as comfortable as it possible to get with multiple concussions and healing gut wounds.

Finally feeling safe, and a little loved, Ranma slept at last.

Looking down at her self-invited sleeping partner, Kasumi wondered when Ranma had matured. The Ranma Saotome she knew would never be able to have that conversation without stammering into heated denials.

'Akane is luckier than I,' thought the eldest Tendo, as she settled down to sleep, wondering why the gates of her heart were rattling against her self-appointed obligations.

-

Tomorrow when Ranma awoke in the koi, Kasumi did not remember what, for her, didn't happen. Ranma vowed not to forget such selfless kindness.

---

Next: "Inner Fears"

---

Author's Notes:

--Miyuki-chan is from the anime "Miyuki-chan in Wonderland" by CLAMP, and does not belong to me. I enjoyed this crazy little diversion (only a half hour long), and you might too.

--"Alice in Wonderland" is by Lewis Carroll, and has fallen into the public domain since it was written so long ago. The Queen of Hearts and the March Hare come from this, though I tried to tweak their personalities based on CLAMP's rendition of the characters.

--Kouda is the last name of Miyuki-chan's seiryu (voice actress), as her last name was never mentioned.

--The signpost quote comes from "Korea, Though Myths and Legends." Robin Rhee. Seoul Press, 1996. My library didn't have any books on Japanese mythology, so I made due.

--Aku Soku Zan can be translated as "Kill Evil Instantly" or "Sin Swift Slay" and was the motto of the Shinsengumi in "Ruroni Kenshin." I do not know if it has genuine historical basis.


	12. moments11

"Inner Fears"

-----

"Ahahahahaha!" Nabiki exploded into unrestrained, purely amused laughter.

Sighing, Ranma waited for the smartest woman he knew to shut up and bestow her opinion of his predicament. Though an inner voice hinted she'd spoken eloquently.

"Nabiki, what can I do? I know what waits, and I am helpless before it." Shuddering, Ranma absently rubbed his stomach where three painful puncture wounds no longer existed, and pictured what had happened when he'd returned............

-

--FB/--

For the second time Ranma Saotome appeared in eightfold crossroads of the Kami Realm. He knew the path to avoid. He maneuvered his body like a master ninja, but when he stepped onto a road, it was always the Southwestern path: the Path of Good Intentions.

Carefully walking away backwards ended in brief disorientation. When the mental fog cleared, he was standing on the road leading to his despair. He always came back to it: the road leading into nightmares. With a waiting demon faster than he dared dream, and powerful enough to brush away his best. No fiancée needed saving, prompting him.

Shooting eight orange, thin frustrated ki-lances in eight directions into the kami sky ended with eight small divots in an arrow shaped pattern, pointing down the Path of Good Intentions.

Stymied, in the end Ranma Saotome laid with his back against the signpost, doubting the success of his quest to remove the Bane of Heirs from his lineage. Simply stated: he was afraid of the devil in the dark. He feared the soul swallowing darkness down the monster's hungry maw.

To his surprise, the sign he leaned against read a different message, this time in elegant letter-perfect romanji:

"Examinations are formidable even to the best prepared, for the greatest fool may ask more than the wisest man can answer. For in life it is difficult to say who do you the most mischief -- enemies with worst intentions, or friends with the best."

In the end, he had simply walked away, back into the Cave of the Ghost Boar, and struck the walls bitterly in defeat.

--/FB--

-

"Why, if you can't win the game, change the rules." Said Nabiki at last, after she had finished picturing the great, arrogant Saotome Ranma cowering like a whimpering mouse. Rarely could she remember seeing Ranma this disturbed, and it bothered her inside her mask of amusement.

"Meaning?" Prompted Ranma.

"Meaning you don't have to do this alone. Who says you can't go in with guns blazing? What dictates you giving in to despair? Maybe, you should change the intent behind your purpose, or try walking beside the right road rather than demanding the obvious path?"

"Nabiki," said Ranma with a twinkle in his eyes, "Why, that is absolutely brilliant!" Impulsively hugging the salvation of his dilemma, he heard a soft whisper.

"Twenty thousand yen please!" Asked Nabiki as she blew in his ear.

Handing over the money that would reappear tomorrow, he couldn't help but comment, "You shouldn't buy and sell salvation, it corrupts the meaning behind the commodity."

"On the contrary, Ranma-kun, salvation means nothing unless a price is attached to it. Traditional, you see." Explained Nabiki, counting her easy money.

"Even if the money were to vanish tomorrow, along with this memory from your mind; swept away like a rushing mountain river?"

Radiating satisfaction, Nabiki gently explained: "If that happened, you would still remember. You'd remember I was your salvation, and that rather than turning elsewhere to solve your problem, you came to me. And I made it all better! In a way, that memory is more expensive than its physical form." Smirking, the girl riffled the wad of yen with relish, and stuck it into the back pocket of her pastel blue short shorts. Then she returned to reading her manga.

Recognizing a dismissal, the not-so invincible martial artist left, pondering why his salvation often took the name and form of Nabiki Tendo.

-----

New day. Splashdown. Shaking off cascades of water, the red-headed girl blurred for instant, before standing on an unconscious panda's stomach while laughing hard. Taking an experimental jump, as one who's just discovered a wondrous trampoline, the victorious girl elicited a groan from her barely conscious father, who hardly knew what landed on him.

The unusual noise of trampled panda left Kasumi with an 'oh my' hanging on her lips as she prepared breakfast, and she rushed outside to find Mr. Saotome holding a sign stating "The pain! The pain!" -flip- "Have you no consideration boy!" Dismissing the occurrence as normal morning exuberance, she returned to her miso.

Minutes later when the eldest girl announced breakfast, Ranma was already jumping over the gothic iron metal gates of the Kuno mansion. Expertly avoiding the no-longer random traps, she paused on the pointed arrow atop a magnificent flowing water fountain. The arrow, about to fired by a cupid resembling her cursed female form, supported her full weight. The mustache on the statue looked out of place The icon's symbolic bow pointed at a decapitated suitor. The black crayon commentary over the ruined statuary led Ranma to believe the younger Kuno had not approved of her brother's tribute.

Changing gender in mid-leap, the pigtailed boy braced himself as he crashed through the glass barrier of Kodachi's window. Dodging a handful of finely ground cayenne pepper that the instantly awake gymnast hurled at his face, Ranma swiftly immobilized Kodachi Kuno and hogtied her with the black satin curtains around her shattered window.

"Sasuki!" Bellowed a red-haired girl.

Appearing instantly, the diminutive ninja retainer bowed and recited, "Yes mistress" in his woebegone voice. Noticing the surroundings, he and produced and proceeded to use party favors with gusto.

Observing the ninja doing a happy dance with a black rose-shaped noisemaker after cracking two cones of black confetti, Ranma again yelled "Sasuki!" causing the celebrating minion to pay attention.

"Oh happy day!" Rhapsodized the small weasel-like man, "As mistress Kodachi stated on numerous occasions, her Ranma-sama has finally decided to elope in a sexy, somewhat barbaric, but surely exciting for-a-young-girl-like-her way!"

Groaning while holding the back of her head, Ranma explained the plan.

--

The helicopter marked with symbols of clan Kuno settled down in front of Fushimiinari a half hour later.

Carrying a comatose black-satin wrapped girl up the 108 winding stairs, Ranma immediately sought out Brother Yojin and Master Sentaro. At his instructions, they quickly exorcised the Sanity Drinker, after Ranma isolated it with seventeen precise bursts of crushing spiritual will. The young Saotome almost felt ready to perform the procedure by himself now.

"Ranma-sama, did you know you're under a curse. . . . and why am I in my nightclothes on what feels like a sanctified marble altar?" Asked Kodachi blearily after she awakened.

"Heh 'Dachi, I listen carefully; I need help. . . "

Rapidly evaluating her situation, the gymnast deduced her priorities, and immediately grabbed her darling rescuer in an intimate embrace, whispering seductively, "Yes! Oh yes, my love! Take me now!"

"Not that kind of help!" Yelled Ranma, attempting to wriggle away; unfortunately the no longer distressed damsel took this as encouragement.

--

Around 10:30am a helicopter hovered briefly near the second story of the Tendo compound. A black ribbon whipped out of the side-compartment, going through an opened window and encircling a sleeping girl. As the girl wore a black hood complete with the best noise-proofing money could buy, she didn't hear a thing. Fortunately she was dressed from breakfast. She'd experienced a glorious vision of sleeping in after Akane stomped off to school alone.

Kasumi waved merrily at the abductors, and noticed Ranma was already present. Undoubtedly Nabiki would be perfectly safe. Whistling cheerfully, she continued folding laundry; it was considerate of them to wait until she had gotten it off the lines.

--

What finally woke the power-napping mercenary was being dumped unceremoniously on the bottom of a tightly cramped helicopter, as the device accelerated to its last destination.

Expertly unclasping her beauty mask, the displaced girl noted her surroundings. She wondered why Kodachi was wearing a leotard with a prominent yin-yang motif, but dismissed that detail.

"Kuno and Saotome. . . . this is going to be very expensive." Nabiki was not a morning person. One word sheathed in the tempered steel of her extreme displeasure summed it up: "Explain."

Cringing, Ranma wondered at the wisdom of shanghaiing his team. Kodachi was unnaturally pushy, but she would follow orders. Well, mostly. Nabiki was just unwilling because she hated adventure; grabbing her while she slept was the only way to get her along. Now how to put this?

--

"I am not visiting the Kami with you." Assured Nabiki in a voice oozing self-assurance.

"Good!" Sneered the devil hunter. "A lowborn hussy like you can guard the transportation; I'm sure the Gods would immediately condemn you to Hell for such an insubordinate attitude." While she was freed of her demons, The Black Rose had not miraculously transformed into 'nice.'

"Whatever." Rejoined the uncommitted brains of the operation. "At least I'm careful enough not to bungle my own business ventures, unlike certain ditzy devil hunters who can't guard themselves from possession!"

Feeling bad things coming, Sasuke sped the helicopter up to maximum, making the two adversaries settle for glaring at each other as the noise factor inside the chopper drowned out conversations.

Preoccupied at finding himself in an active leadership position, Ranma mentally rethought this entire scheme. Of his fiancées, Akane would just be in the way, Shampoo would only try to sleep with him, and while Ukyo might be helpful, she wasn't on his level. Kodachi wasn't either, but her relics granted magical powers he could not duplicate, even with his advanced spiritual training. That part wasn't a liability. Nabiki was necessary because when properly motivated, she could easily out-think him. After rashly bartering for the Amulet of Presence, Ranma wanted the absolute best negotiator on his side when dealing with ageless trickery.

In her own way, the mercenary Tendo had already exacted a high price. He'd tried convincing her to cooperate in the morning for the past week, but the girl had always rebuffed his offers, muttering 'Wacko Kami or sleep in: not a tough decision,' before slamming her door shut. This led to a cascade of events involving Akane that would waste most of the morning, effectively ruining his plans of traveling to Shikoku in a timely fashion.

Yes, there was no option besides his chosen course. Now he needed to convince his team.

He noticed Nabiki mouth 'Rich Bitch' at Kodachi, who returned by mouthing 'Closet Lesbian' at Nabiki. Simultaneously realizing if they didn't look at each other, they wouldn't be insulted, Nabiki and Kodachi now both glared at Ranma instead. Settling back in his seat as if napping, Ranma closed his eyes.

--

Despite his inadequacies, the ninja retainer of the Kunos could pilot, and the helicopter landed in the clearing by the Cave of the Ghost Boar with only a small bump.

"Is this the place Ranma-sama?" Asked Kodachi.

"Yeah; have the lunch Sasuke packed while I open the way. It should take about forty-five minutes." Ranma jumped off the side of the vehicle and headed into the cave.

"Mistress!" Implored Sasuke meekly, "Does this mean I can eat with you too? I brought enough for twenty people."

"I see no reason why not, lowly minion." Said Kodachi indifferently as she observed a black rose-patterned picnic blanket and refreshments being diligently arranged. The insufferable Tendo mercenary remained inside the helicopter.

"Thank you so much Kuno-sama!" Groveled the small man, who loyally elaborated. "Young Master Tatewaki would instruct me to save the rest for an uncertain and possibly dangerous future, if this was his mission!"

"What have I told you about mentioning my obsessive brother in my presence?" The question was delivered conversationally with a small hint of menace.

"Forgive me mistress! I am unworthy to serve!" The retainer quickly grabbed three food containers and vanished from her presence.

Pondering a further response while enjoying a batch of lentil soup, the rich girl lost herself contemplating suitable punishments.

Observing lunch was ready, Nabiki pulled Sasuki aside from where he hid behind the helicopter, watching dispassionately as he gorged on his favorite dish of octopus balls.

"You prepared the meal yourself, and only by yourself with handpicked ingredients free of any possible thought altering spices?"

Nodding while frantically chewing, the midget ninja concentrated on proper nutrition.

Taking this as her cue, the unwilling prisoner saw nothing wrong with lunchtime.

Before carefully consuming middle portions of chosen items that had not touched their packing materials or containers, Nabiki announced, "I consider eating this meal in no way an obligation to go on a useless quest, merely as a small expense accrued from kidnapping me."

Kodachi, who couldn't care less, proceeded to ignore her. Ranma-sama had made her promise not to kick the Tendo girl's ass, earlier, before they picked her up.

The meal passed in glaring silence until Ranma, who looked half-exhausted and was Kissing the Face of Life to replenish his energies, joined enthusiastically. Unobtrusively, Sasuki followed and began packing empty containers.

"You know Kodachi," mused Ranma, "no one will know what happens to us in the kami-realm. Whatever great and wondrous treasures we find will be totally tax exempt."

Leering at him, the gymnast stretched to accentuate her breasts, and bantered back, "Yes, it will be wonderful! We'll be free from the Chinese bimbo, the low bred chef, and the stupid gorilla Tendo clan." She laughed merrily. "We can elope with panache and find a true God to sanction our betrothal!"

"I'll make sure to let Akane know who you threw her over for." Replied Nabiki cheerfully, enjoying a crème parfait. "Have fun you two!"

"Oh, I don't know 'dachi, I'm sure with meeting all the extremely rich, intelligent, and eligible divine bachelors you might soon decide to settle down with someone else."

Shaking her head in denial, the cleansed devil hunter whispered softly, "I could never abandon my savior twice over."

"Somehow I doubt you'll be visiting immortal bachelors or searching out caches of treasure." Scoffed the middle Tendo, who lacked a boyfriend. "Rushing off to cure the Bane of Heirs won't give you much of an opportunity for socializing."

"Ah, you misunderstand." Smirked Ranma while leaning back lazily on the rose-embroidered blanket, attempting to imitate a devious pattern learned from the one he was trying to tempt. "Since we have no clue where inside the Kami-planes an answer may be, we must visit around, and perhaps raid multiple storehouses of arcane and priceless relics. I have no use for junk like gold, diamonds and rubies, and neither does Kodachi. Unless someone with us wanted it, we'd merely leave it."

"I'm already rich." Agreed the scion of house Kuno, secretly thinking new accessories might be welcome.

"Danger doesn't agree with me." Parried Nabiki demurely, though a bead of sweat had broken out on her forehead and her pulse had started racing.

"You would be along as a consultant, protected foremost by us, entitled to whatever you wished to bring back, along with say, a small percentage of what we carried."

A small pause for thought greeted the implied offer.

"Should I decide to go, hypothetically, I'd want a percentage overall rather than being restricted to what a poor, weak girl like myself could manage on her own." Making an effort to spoon the last of her desert away, Nabiki utterly exaggerated her helplessness.

"Hypothetically, I could see us agreeing to a large percentage; right Kodachi-chan?"

Dreamily the long-haired girl nodded, not caring what she was asked, only that her love had addressed her by a pet name. For the next few minutes she retreated into her own inner world, planning their wedding.

"Ninety-five percent." Stated the businesswoman flatly.

"Fifty." Retorted Ranma, knowing going too low would scare the pigeon away.

"Ninety percent; I hate unknown variables."

"Sixty percent; I don't want to be weighed down by useless baubles."

"Eighty-five percent; I am not here by choice."

"Seventy percent; listening to laughing girl and you argue about her carrying stuff will get on my nerves."

"Eighty percent, and you explain to rich bitch she's carrying treasure you want as a privilege."

"Heh; I can do that so long as you don't tease her or piss her off much. Deal?"

"Deal."

Both Ranma and Nabiki smiled shark-like at each other, aware they had totally conned the other.

A breeze swept through the picnic area, spinning the polished metal blades of the helicopter, and offering a respite from the shining noonday sun. Leaves rustled in the trees near at the outskirts of the clearing.

Coming back to reality as she finished desert, Kodachi instructed her servant: "Whatever portions we don't finish will be lovingly spared for future contingencies, however our pack mule," she paused to significantly glance at an indifferent Nabiki Tendo, "is weak and stubborn despite her gorilla ancestry."

The joy of understanding suffused Sasuki's face, and he redoubled his efforts at packing up the extra food. Thanks to his Secret Ninja Game Boy, guarding the helicopter while his mistress and her friends faced dire circumstances was a task within his abilities, unlike going with them.

"I am not wearing a backpack." Stated their new third member flatly.

"Eighty percent." Reminded Ranma, managing to keep the smugness from his voice.

--

The devil hunter prodded the Sword of her Soul at the crossroads showing in the open Kami-portal. A wavering appeared across the landscape, and for a moment the scene ripple-blurred, as if the gate was a lake that had felt a tentative raindrop.

"Put the toy away." Muttered Ranma irritably.

Expressionless, the backpacking middle Tendo observed. The rough dirty stone walls of The Cave of the Ghost Boar did not look intimidating, lacking stalagmites or stalactites. Angled outside sunlight and the peculiar radiance of the gate meant Nabiki's eyes didn't adjust to the expected cavern darkness. The benevolence inside the cave reminded her of Kasumi's room when her sister was babysitting for Mrs. Tanaka, though Kasumi would never tolerate this amount of dirt.

Dismissing the short sword back into astral storage, Kodachi looked briefly annoyed.

"Listen carefully," Said Ranma. "We are holding each other's hands, and then we are leaping together. Under no circumstances release your grips. At the moment we leap, think of crossroads at the other side of the gate, or your place of dearest home."

"Ranma-sama, what happens if we -do- let go?"

Considerately, that fate was explained: "Um, I'm not sure, but you'll be lost in the void. If you die there your soul probably won't be consumed by oblivion."

"Great. Give me your word as a martial artist that you'll die before you let go." Asked Nabiki with barely concealed distaste.

"Given. To both of you." The kami seeker bowed his head solemnly; any danger his companions faced remained ultimately his responsibility, for taking them along.

Nabiki's grip was vice-like, whereas Kodachi did her best to turn her grip on Ranma into a grope.

"At the count of three -- say it with me." The girls nodded.

A nervous chorus began: "One. Two............. Three!"

The companions jumped through the open Kami-gate hand in hand. For an instant, thousands of worlds flashed across their eyes. Fast enough to dazzle, without time for remembered impressions. Having listened to Ranma, they were properly grounded, and two of the three landed gracefully on their feet next to the signpost on the Kami-plane.

Nabiki landed on her backpack. Kodachi's hand abandoned her easily as she unbalanced.

As she fell holding his hand, Ranma was pulled on top of Nabiki in what looked like a sexually compromising position. Her legs were involuntarily held open by Ranma's knee and his nose was planted squarely between her breasts.

Quickly, he withdrew his face and tried to formulate an apology.

With a vein throbbing on her forehead, Kodachi considered the situation, since she still held Ranma's other hand. "Miss Tendo, that looks like quite the initiative! Let me show you how a real woman does it."

Swiftly, the devil hunter joined the pile, putting her full weight on Ranma while rubbing herself against his back in what really -was- a sexually comprising position. This squished the lowest in the pile (and her backpack). It also slammed Ranma's face back where it was before the gymnast jumped on.

"Remind me again, before I forget Saotome!" Instructed Nabiki icily as she uncomfortably felt squished underneath two people.

"Eighty percent." Came the muffled reply from the middle of her chest.

-

"A proper martial artist could at least sweep a girl off her feet correctly." Still miffed though everyone now stood separately, Nabiki got her dig in.

"Yes, Ranma-sama, it should have been no problem to dump the harridan, or stop her from falling for you. Did you choose the position that happened?" The Kuno-girl unsheathed her claws.

Kodachi's double meaning sailing over his head, Ranma simply said: "The signpost changed again. It surprised me."

Suddenly realizing they weren't in Japan anymore, the group stopped focusing on each other and looked around, taking in the austere crossroads and simple marker. The meadow of lazy green grass around them stretched out farther than their vision could penetrate.

Ranma thought the signpost read in Han Dynasty Chinese: "The first duty of a leader is to make himself be loved without courting love. To be loved without 'playing up' to anyone - even to himself."

Nabiki translated aloud from modern business English: "She who is in love is wise and is becoming wiser. She sees newly with every look at the object beloved, drawing from it with her eyes and mind those virtues it possesses."

Kodachi mentioned she saw Devil's Hunter secret script reading: "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

Ranma saw eight paths leading in the directions of the compass points. Nabiki saw a single path heading about seventy degrees north, and Kodachi saw thirteen branches pointing south.

"Be careful; these crossroads confront travelers with the flaws in their souls." Warned their leader. Like a drill phobic person with a festering cavity facing the salvation of dental surgery, Ranma both longed for and feared what awaited him on the Path of Good Intentions.

"Then, why bother with established routes?" Asked the innovative high school student who created her own betting business.

"Because somehow, you always end up coming back to same dilemma." Voice slightly frustrated, Ranma thought to himself 'Here's where I see if bringing Nabiki was a good idea.'

Deliberately backing away from her path, Nabiki reached a set distance from the signpost, about a hundred feet, and then vanished. She reappeared with her left foot upon the road she attempted to evade.

Observing the transfer, Kodachi called forth the Sword of Her Soul and used it like a dousing rod. Briefly, it glowed golden. Succinctly, the devil-hunter reported: "This is a divine test of worthiness. We must overcome to continue. Let us begin."

"So be it." Sighed Ranma, not looking forward to facing his flaws and fears. "We walk them together."

" 1 "

" 1 "

-1st path taken-

Holding Nabiki as she led them north, Ranma and Kodachi felt a spiritual veil reluctantly widening as they stepped on the road. Both noticed the crossroads disappearing, as if a masterful illusion had healed itself.

The girl being tested, however, fell to her knees in shock; this was painful given the highway's contents. "Wow!" She gasped, observing the stony road receding into the horizon contained nuggets of gold, silver, platinum, and electrum. She even spotted an occasional unworked ruby or emerald among the normal 'stones' in the semi-sharp gravel.

"Nabiki, why are you rolling in the stones and dust?" Asked Ranma, who shared none of the mindset that trapped people on the Path of False Wealth.

"Stop pouring dirt on our dinner!" Called Kodachi in alarm as Nabiki started storing 'riches' in her backpack. "Stupid bitch," muttered the devil hunter, who walked over to Nabiki while building a yellow glow in her sacred bracelet.

"Ah, just who I needed." Greeted the businesswoman suavely while holding up a double handful of dirty pebbles. "Carry these."

Ignoring the grime, Kodachi chanted mantras in a lilting, hypnotic language while holding her relic up to the enthralled girl's face before slapping. White light flashed with the sound of flesh meeting flesh, and Nabiki watched her immeasurable wealth turn into worthless detritus.

The shock immobilized her speechless for a good thirty seconds. Uncomfortably, Ranma noted the area around the Path of False Wealth resembled a desert or a beach. Lots of sand with the occasional struggling plant life. Though, most deserts didn't have exotic bonsai trees for cacti.

Knowing Kodachi's work in botany, Ranma looked at her admiring the scenery as they waited for Nabiki. Noting this interest, she smiled, showing she wouldn't need a similar rescue.

"I won't forget this." Said Nabiki slowly, with great emotion as she found her voice. She deliberately rubbed the red welt on her cheek, to remind herself anew of Kodachi's future pain. For Nabiki, this was vowing revenge more painful than being staked naked in the sweltering jungle in front of a termite mound covered in honey and excrement.

"No need to thank me, I enjoyed the task." Kodachi assured her plebian companion no hard feelings existed on her end as she played with a carefully pruned bonsai leaf.

The group headed forward, and experienced a brief burst of disorientation. They found themselves at the Kami-signpost where they originally arrived.

"Money matters that much to you?" Ranma asked curiously, having felt no desire or disturbance on the Path of False Wealth.

Looking unusually vulnerable, Nabiki smiled lightly. "Money represents a life without obligations and powerlessness. For a moment, Saotome, I was freer than I had ever been."

Not knowing how to reply, Ranma nodded and followed Kodachi onto a southern pathway, wondering what hidden depths would confront the girl with such a twisted sense of mortality.

" 2 "

" 2 "

-2nd path taken-

Kodachi led the others onto the middle of her thirteen choices, and the sky became gray and lifeless as they walked.

This path was a flat highway, typical of rural areas everywhere, even having yellow parallel lines down the middle for vehicles. Gravel shoulders and forested hills decorated the landscape. A green billboard-like sign written with large white characters, stated 'The Path of Destroyed Enemies.'

A solemn mood engulfed the travelers, and they hesitated to break the silence. It felt more extreme than talking in a library; laughing during a Christian funeral in the middle of the eulogy as the Priest rhapsodized over 'dust to dust, ashes to ashes' might capture the spirit of violation better.

"Nabiki!" Whispered Ranma, "Bury any bodies in your business?"

"Hey! I'm an ethical girl!" Her schemes were mostly amusement driven, with profits being nice too. "What about you, any great rivals crushed as you mastered the Art?" She whispered back.

"Nah, dead people never come back with new techniques, not to mention killing attracts negative attention and can't be reversed. Most of my friends were once enemies, actually." No longer technically whispering, Ranma's reply was delivered in low tones that didn't carry far.

"Be on your guard!" Snapped Kodachi tensely. "While I haven't been called much as a Devil Hunter, I did destroy nests of concentrated activity. We could encounter mind-drinking gaki, forest oni, and even an occidental mound spirit."

Slowly, the demon huntress and the martial artist advanced, with the frightened schoolgirl who hated adventure in the place of maximum protection between them. The camaraderie stopped.

Twenty minutes later, their middle member called out with all of her voice projection skills, "Ok, I know you're out there. Building the dramatic tension of ambush serves no further purpose, except to give these two the chance to see through your stealth techniques."

Nabiki clearly saw a rotting corpse she guessed to be mind-eating gaki motion to two separate oni groups. Ranma and Kodachi stiffened as they saw themselves surrounded by enemies they had previously slain.

Behind them, Ranma saw the thirteen oni and their leader he had decimated earlier in the Kami realms. Immediately ahead, Kodachi confronted her own defeated opponents. Ignoring most, she glared at a pair of gaki in the back of her Horde with undiluted hatred.

-

"So you guys here for a rematch?" Inquired Ranma of the bearded, thirteen-foot tall oni leader, who still emitted a muted aura of darkness.

"We lived and died by battle, no grudges held." Explained the greater oni. "This visitation isn't for revenge, but for settling old debts. We must have your forgiveness for both of us to proceed."

"This means you have no power over your murderers?" Asked Nabiki from what she hoped was a safe distance.

Laughing evilly, the towering monster replied: "We have only the reality our callers give up. They may empower us with rage or free us with forgiveness. My band and I, though we ache to tear and rend, would be ineffective against one who does not hate. Release us back into the killing fields of paradise!"

Bowing gravely, Ranma said: "You are forgiven." Satisfied, the oni cohort vanished with bloodthirsty battle cries.

-

"Sword of my Soul, come forth." Stated a female voice with steely determination from behind Ranma.

"I won't forgive you for using the form of my grandparents against me a second a time!" Screeched the devil huntress, remembering a brush with death from being too trusting of the familiar.

Glaring at a collection of moss covered forest oni, none more than four feet tall, she snarled, "This has nothing to do with you. Seek your final piece or I will show no mercy!"

The tree-like beasts collapsed on the cement like dying plants, recognizing an enemy who defeated them. In seconds, they shriveled and vanished completely.

Glancing at the pack of mind-easting gaki that remained, the ying-yang symbol on Kodachi's devil hunting leotard began to glow. "By the Nine Spokes of Eternity, I dismiss you into What Comes After." Brilliance flared, and a wave of radiance projected from her body, dissolving the shambling mind-eating gaki. Ultimately, though, the attack failed.

All Kodachi could focus on were two remaining creatures in the back. Perhaps the deity overseeing the confrontation understood that deep inside the Black Rose, she could reconcile with everything but this.

"I'll see you annihilated for this mockery!" Kodachi screeched at the gaki in the bodies of her grandparents, summoning the full strength of her bracelet. Soon she glowed with a shining golden aura, like concentrated sunbeams. "Shatter!" She commanded with an echoing harmonic, hurling the Sword of her Soul directly upwards and releasing twin sunbursts from each hand.

As twin golden ovoids shot forth, Ranma and Nabiki became aware of what the other member of their team was about to do – attacking and therefore empowering her defeated enemies.

"Don't!" They yelled in tandem.

The sunbursts struck with a high musical B-Sharp in an ever-brightening nimbus. The Furinken students shielded their eyes, until they felt more than saw the attack fade. When they looked again, Kodachi held her sword defensively, obviously facing relatives.

The aristocratic family resemblance was noticeable in the strides the two gaki began taking towards their nemesis, emulating Tatewaki Kuno's measured yet relentless pace toward an object of his affection. No longer resembling decaying corpses in crumbling linen shrouds, they appeared more ghost-like with a faint hint of the attire they preferred in life.

If she was unnerved by the second failure, the devil huntress didn't show it as she waved her sword in an intricate pattern, etching the characters for redemption and life in the air. "The Second Spoke," she announced coldly as the tracery completed, "Redeem."

Flashing briefly with a white light, the kanji for life/redemption illuminated the two ghost-like gaki, suffusing them with power from whatever entity Kodachi worked on behalf of.

The two standing behind the defiant girl shielded their eyes. When they could look, a white-haired woman wearing traditional a red kimono, emblazoned with roses and the symbols of clan Kuno, stood on Kodachi' right. A bald gentleman in a silken magistrate's robe flanked her left side.

Seeing their presence as a threat, Ranma rushed at the old distinguished man with a grapple he intend to turn into a distance throw, only to pass right through Grandpa Kuno in surprise.

Nabiki watched Ranma's failure and quick recovery on the paved highway, and caught his eye, shaking her head. Warned off, Ranma sat on cold cement and watched; while he couldn't read lips, he knew emotionally wrenching body language.

Silent tears flowed down the youngest Kuno's face, as she refused to believe what was required. When ten minutes of ghostly communion passed, she embraced her grandparents, and they faded with gentle smiles.

Not bothering to wipe her sorrow away, the devil hunter said thickly, "I forgave them for being used against their wills to hurt me; it's the hardest thing I ever did."

Leaving the place of confrontation behind, the three continued silently on the Path of Destroyed Enemies, coming to a curve a few hundred steps down the road. At the end of the lazy turning, they found themselves once more at Ranma's eightfold crossroads.

As they approached the signpost, the highway behind them evaporated into the sky, like a vanishing mirage. The oppressive solemnity went with it, and they felt conversation possible again.

" 3 "

" 3 "

-3rd path taken-

"Now that we've faced our wrenching emotional challenges, what does Mr. Macho Martial Artist have waiting for him?" After seeing the stuck up rich girl suffer more than she, Nabiki's emotional equilibrium completely restored itself.

"Don't worry Ranma-sama, we'll be with you." Assured the devil-hunter, having collected her composure.

"Stay well behind, I expect I'll be facing a hideous demon that nearly killed me before." With the hands of both girls on his shoulders, Ranma Saotome tensely stepped onto the Path of Good Intentions.

The rustic route remained the same, though this time he immediately spotted the ominous blackened peaks of the border to Hell rising in the distance. Dark smoke drifted upwards from their depths.

After walking a mile, the grasses around them stirred, and a band four tailed Kitsune wearing the tanned skins of humans arose from the sparse cover on either side of the path, surrounding Ranma's group.

The thirteen foxes were human sized, in the five-foot range, and their leader stood a massive ten feet and sported a bad triple-claw scar on his left cheek. Their stances showed they had batto-jutsu rapid strike training, and each carried a sheathed katana and wakazashi (Japanese short sword) in easy reach.

"You must get through us to continue." Spoke the eldest fox in an oddly accented voice. It was almost like he sang the words.

Smirking arrogantly, Ranma snorted. "Come get some, you unlucky freaks!" A gilded silver bo staff appeared in his hand, courtesy of Hidden Weapons.

Laughing with her trademark, 'OH Hohohohohoho!' Kodachi produced a black ribbon, which she tied to the hilt of her devil-hunting sword. Soon it began glowing with golden power.

Annoyed her companions immediately jumped to battle-mode, Nabiki whispered to Ranma, "If something goes wrong, your job is saving me." Then she brazenly walked over to the gray-muzzled fox that had spoken the warning.

"We can use more human ears for belts!" Growled the leader in a low baritone. An aggressive round of yipping echoed him as twelve foxes encircled Ranma and Kodachi.

-

"Exactly why are you Kitsune guarding a tract of land in the middle of nowhere?" Drawled the Tendo girl lazily while smiling at a battle scarred four tailed fox, indicating she was enraptured by his looks and charm. They walked into the tall dark green crab grass that lined the beaten dirt trail of the Path of Good Intentions. Both wanted to be well away from the coming battle.

"Actually, we're border guards." Explained the old fox, who was missing most of an ear. He absently scratched his stomach through the cured brown leather he wore; his visible fur had aged into a tangled ratty gray mess. Noticing this, Nabiki gave him more room, fearing hell-fleas. "This is the edge of Hell, and we warn off idiots like you. If we were defeated, then evils would run rampant across the Kami-realms. However, looking at your pathetic friends, it's likely we'll have new decorations soon."

"Foxy-baby, why don't you and I step over there away from this little fight, and you can tell me all about what a chore it is guarding the border to Hell." Nabiki's invitation was offered in a sultry voice, though they walked rapidly away from approaching fight.

"I'm not a cross-species pervert." Explained the older kitsune, who continued following the girl off to the sidelines.

"Of course not, foxy-baby! Whatever made you think I was interested?" Delivered Nabiki playfully. "Anyway, while we watch our respective companions, you can fill me on the details." They stopped about two hundred feet into the weedy meadow of crab grass.

"I suppose I could," muttered the old fox, "after your friends die, we can always use good slaves. You don't have a fighter's aura, so I could easily subdue you."

-

"Dachi, the leader is mine, can you handle the rest?" Glaring the large red fox-mutant, Ranma used obscene hand gestures to convey clearly that he was the proper opponent.

"I can't imagine these foxes are tougher than piddling oni." Responded the gymnast loudly, spreading her hands in derision and eliciting snarls from the massed troupe.

Holding his left paw out, the leader brought it straight down, signaling a rushing attack in their band's assault code.

"Come get some boys!" Purred the Black Rose, sending a lightning arc from her glowing golden ribbon and blasting a Kitsune airborne.

Ranma closed on the leader, who had a reach advantage, and engaged his silver staff against black twin swords.

Five of the remaining ten Kitsune toppled over, paralyzed. Half were from needles Ranma hit their Immobilization Points with during his gesturing. Half were from poisoned darts Kodachi used with high precision when she spread her hands mockingly. In a display of overlapping intentions, one poor fox had been subjected to both. That one would sleep for days.

Settling in a good testing rhythm, Ranma had begun evaluating the huge Kitsune's style when suddenly he ducked his head.

The fox Kodachi blasted airborne spun its tails like propellers to regain altitude and soon started another strafing run. The golden blast left no noticeable injuries on the flying kitsune.

The Devil Huntress meanwhile was hard-pressed fighting against two foxes simultaneously, while her ribbon absorbed and redirected shuriken, ki attacks, and hostile magic bursts from three more. It acted like a sentient creature as she backed down the dirt track at a measured pace, giving ground while readying her next move.

The Kitsune leader became overmatched as Ranma executed Splitting Cat Hairs while whirling his bo-staff, and he clicked his evil swords together, sending a huge ki-wave to disrupt the images, which the real Ranma flowed around using the Essence of the Sea. The reckless energy continued toward the flying fox, forcing a frantic ascent and effectively removing him from combat.

Kodachi was down to four opponents, after tracing out 'Justice' as part of a defensive sword form. Having not been truly evil according the laws governing the Fourth Spoke, the fox in the way was merely unconscious as opposed to being vaporized. The kitsune's human-skin clothing had been completely destroyed.

Sensing an opening while holding off the deadly dance of the leader's relentless swords, Ranma used a dual ki blast from his staff ends. It forced the huge Kitsune into an unfavorable parry, his left sword slicing a furrow into the ground as the tall fox struggled not to unbalance and fall.

In general, things were looking up for the Japanese kids, when the need for fighting was removed. Nabiki finished her interrogation.

"Stop this!" Yelled the running Kitsune elder from the sidelines. He emitted a series of yips and yelps, which translated to 'The anal-retentive Japanese Kami are screwing with us' provided the blandishments about non-functioning genitalia, ancestry, hygiene, and cleanliness were omitted.

"Break off, it's a trap!" Added Nabiki, walking leisurely over, noting her side had been kicking fox-ass.

Wearily, the remaining foxes backed off, awaiting an explanation. Their leader barked his gratitude to his shaman, knowing his life had been saved. The airborne kitsune crash-landed, and slowly stopped spinning his tails.

-

"The short version is the leader of these humans is directly responsible for assigning us this shit job of guard duty." The gray, dog-eared fox shaman explained when things settled and no one was obviously dead.

"We should kill them for that!" Bellowed the kitsune-leader, fingering his swords until Kodachi glared at him and he cringed.

"The reason behind that assignment is the previous guardians, a band of oni from Hellside, were eradicated in mortal combat. By him." Stated the elder Kitsune, pointing at Ranma.

"That's it! Call the head office! No divinity pisses on my Damnation for any reason!" Pulling out a dark crystal that essentially functioned as a Hell phone, the leader threw it to the elder fox. "Rip some flaccid bureaucrat a new one for the team, Nipso."

Using a series of barks and yips, the gray-muzzled Kitsune activated the crystal, and was answered in kind.

A brief droning cadence indicated headquarters put them on hold.

In the interim, Nabiki cheerfully explained what was going on. "Basically, from what we figured out, these guys guard a restricted pocket of Hell housing high-powered demon renegades. This duty is shared by the kami and the devils, since those sealed within turned against both. Traditionally the guards number thirteen, have additional symbology associated with being outcast, such as facial scarring, and are led by a demigod class entity. If somehow they are all killed, one of the seals around the prisoners fails."

"So that shapeshifting dragon-thing that nearly killed me isn't showing up?" Asked Ranma in relief.

Yelping merrily, the fox soldiers absorbed this: "The Formless Duke is loose? He usually kills a couple Gods before they trap him."

The dark telison crystal emitted a string of barks after the happy news.

"Headquarters says your test is over, and they are sending someone down to clear up the mess." Translated the elder fox. "They also said somegod exceeded their authority and it won't happen again." Spitting near a clump of tall crab grass, Nipso added, "Like I believe that."

With a tinkling of bells a small winged man materialized ten feet above them. He wore a miniature white suit and red tie, and suddenly the air smelled of ripe cherries.

"I'm here for a Wild Child, Black Rose, and the sister of the Misty Way of Heaven."

"That's us." Waved Nabiki, indicating Ranma and Kodachi.

Brightening, the minor kami pulled out a scroll and a small pair of eyeglasses.

"Ahem." He read: "It's not the intentions themselves which place a person on the road of Hell, but the consequences and repercussions of acting on those intentions. If the ends and means are not worthy of another, then there is Hell to pay. While you indeed have mastered this test, you did not do it alone. Therefore I'm afraid you'll be learning this lesson again in the Kami Realms, Ranma Saotome. Think more, when you don't have friends guiding you."

The kami's pronouncement was met with an amused smile from Nabiki. "So are we required to look in the mirror anymore?" Asked the materialistic one sarcastically.

"No, you've revelation enough for now. Take the visible path into the lands of Yomi; you may find help from any kami whose sphere of influence extends into the elements, energy, or medicine. Ki-no-mata-no-kami, Mi-wi-no-kami, and Amatersu-omi-kami are the closest choices, though Su-san-O might be most expert."

The small winged man raised his little hands. With a burst of magic, they found themselves back at the eightfold crossroads, facing the only pathway present, to the north.

-

After the humans vanished, the Cherry Blossom Sprite found himself confined in a malevolent binding of hatred and scorn.

"Maybe after we feast on your power and send your head back to headquarters, they'll learn not to use the dangerous Hell-confinement zone for pointless tests of worthiness." Absently licking bruises from the previous battle, the ten-foot tall Kitsune bared his teeth. He had anger to channel, having gotten the sense that male he fought played with him.

"That bitch Izanami made me do it!" Wailed the sprite.

"We must ask ourselves, 'are the ends and means worthy of each other.' " Retorted the gray-muzzled Kitsune shaman.

"I'd say there's Hell to pay!" Yelled a smaller fox from the sidelines.

"Don't worry, after a week or so, you'll be dead. Izanami won't mind." Nipso assured the sprite, who fearfully realized his disturbing lack of backup.

Violence commenced.

--

This time when the three stepped unto an unpaved wide dirt road, common to feudal Japan, the signpost behind them remained and did not vanish. Nothing happened as the travelers moved down this newest direction. Ranma first sensed the waiting presence, but Kodachi promptly pointed out it was masking its true power and holy in origin.

They proceeded, agreeing this waiting Kami felt peaceful. Soon they saw their judge: A wizened old man stood in the middle of the road. He leaned on a staff of air and dust and was dressed in robes bluer than the skies of Earth.

"Hey gramps," greeted Ranma with typical respect, "you know anything about removing a curse called the 'Bane of Heirs?' "

Nabiki rolled her eyes and adjusted her backpack; the old boy was obviously a major kami. Even she could feel his welcoming aura of peace. Hopefully the Saotome mouth wouldn't make him too pissed off.

Kodachi's eyes merely widened at the controlled magical power she felt. The vibes from her relic again reassured the Devil Hunter the aura was genuine.

"Well, well, you're certainly not what we expected." Greeted a jovial airy tenor voice from the ancient mouth. "While you are a bit headstrong, you seem able to ask for help. The crossroads were designed specifically to stop you alone, not even we thought you'd make it beyond."

Seeing Ranma about to talk, Nabiki stepped forward while smacking the back of his head, letting him know to shut up. "We mean no trespass on your domains sir; we are merely travelers trying to remove a burden of misery from our somewhat stupid companion. I am Nabiki Tendo, and these are Ranma Saotome and Kodachi Kuno." She bowed diplomatically and the others followed a second later.

Chuckling a bit, the old man smiled. "Thank you miss Tendo. You can call me Izzy-chan. I am a watcher of displaced views, though people who stare back at me are often struck by my beauty."

"I can't imagine why." Muttered Ranma before Nabiki's elbow hit him.

"So Izzy-chan," spoke Kodachi, tasting a strange phrase as she spoke the name, "do you know how to remove a curse like the Bane of Heirs?"

The old man scratched his bald scalp for a bit, and answered. "Down of business so soon. I guess I don't mind. Yes, I know exactly who can help."

"But?" Questioned Nabiki, filling in an awkward drawn out pause.

"My wife would be unhappy if I didn't send you up to meet her. She'll help you with the other burden yoked to your neck as well, provided you can ride out her tempest. When you get there, let her know 'Izzy-chan says storms may drift apart.' "

As the old man finished his cryptic message, a white cloud settled around him until he became hidden from view. It dissolved quickly, leaving no trace of the ancient one after it dispersed. The path now led to an impossibly high stone tower that looked like it kissed the sky.

Cautiously, Nabiki advised: "He didn't say his wife was the one who would remove the Bane of Heirs."

"Let's go." Said Ranma happily, seeing a clear goal. Anyone who lived in a monument like that surely had the power to remove a simple curse.

--Meanwhile--

"So you thought guarding the helicopter while your insane rose-girl and her servants faced dire circumstances was a task well within your abilities?"

Nodding meekly from where he was hogtied on the ground, Sasuke stared up at the annoyed face of Ryouga.

"I still owe those wackos something from the last time they tried to cook me -- Breaking Point, Advanced!" Yelled Ryouga while touching the Kuno symbol on the helicopter.

Watching horrified as the finest transportation he had been privileged to pilot became mangled wreckage, the incompetent ninja retainer began praying not-so-silently.

"If not for the haunting melody oddly reminiscent of the "Legend of Zelda" I never would have found this place." Mused the lost boy aloud.

At this point Sasuke broke into angry tears; betrayed by his own Secret Ninja Game Boy!

Not sure about what to do about a wailing ninja weasel, Ryouga wandered off.

---

Soon the three travelers approached the base of Sky Tower, staring at the architecture as it ascended into the heavens. It resembled a totem pole full of stacked Japanese shrines, all with a prominent primal motif. The height of the structure could not be usefully estimated beyond ten thousand feet, where the edifice disappeared into cloud cover.

"I have a bad feeling." Said Ranma wearily. "I think we're dealing with Izanami and Izanagi, the brother and sister who married each other in myths and created the Edo of Japan. That staff the old guy was leaning on was probably Ame-no-Nuboko, the Heavenly Spear."

"Didn't they get the first Japanese divorce after Izanami died giving birth to the God of Fire, and was consigned to Yomotsu-Kuni, the Land of the Dead?" Asked Nabiki, thinking the entire situation too convenient.

"According to myth, Izanagi went to rescue his sister-wife in from the Land of the Dead, but somehow broke a promise. He ended up sealing Izanami in the underworld and she threatened to kill a thousand of his followers a day until he apologized. He said he'd merely make fifteen hundred new followers a day, and left her."

Looking at Ranma strangely for his demonstrated knowledge of myth, Nabiki answered, showing suspicion, "I guess they got back together. Wasn't Izanami the one who sent the little kami to us on the Path of Good Intentions?"

The tatami doors of the bottom shrine slid open, cutting off his reply with an impossibly loud grinding. Ranma would have expected an avalanche to rumble so, not a mere paper screen. But the bottom shrine was an Earth Shrine, which might explain the cacophony.

Kodachi, who already knew the mythic background, had investigated the entrance while Nabiki had gotten up to speed. She hadn't knocked; the doors slowly rumbled apart at her cautious approach.

"We are expected." Stated the devil hunter blandly. "It might be wise to maintain physical contact while again stepping into an unknown."

Recognizing Kodachi's veiled attempt to grope him, Ranma also saw wisdom in the plan.

They entered the threshold hand in hand, and walked into a temple honoring the Clay of Creation. The shrine was shaped like a donut, with a huge stone support column taking the place of central hole. A winding spiral staircase attached to the massive cylindrical support led upwards to the next sacred shrine. Frescoes and carvings showing a celebration of Earthen forms decorated the walls, explaining how to shape the Clay of Creation. The atmosphere felt like a sacred museum.

Ranma's thought to start climbing, but he noticed his companions didn't agree. Kodachi was carefully examining the frescoes for hidden warning or traps, and Nabiki was engaged in feeling around the central column.

Sitting on the stair second from the bottom, Ranma watched with a slightly bored expression. Kodachi had completely walked around the circumference of the shrine when Nabiki called out triumphantly.

Prodding a slightly raised section of the huge central column, the middle Tendo caused the wall to slide sideways, exposing an opening. Her shouted obscenity brought her companions running.

Inside the central support whirled a tornado, perfectly contained. The winds refused to die, but oddly produced no greedy suction on objects outside the column.

"This is a strange magic." Ventured the devil hunter unhelpfully, pointing her bracelet at it, and moving it around in attempted analysis.

"It is certainly not the elevator I hoped for." Groused Nabiki while sitting and massaging her aching feet.

"Actually," muttered the master of the Hi-Ryu-Shoten-Ha, "this might do."

Staring at the martial artist like he was insane, the tired backpacking girl began violently shaking her head in denial. "No way! I'm not being thrown into a tornado. Not gonna happen. That's final."

--

"Remember Nabiki, keep your eyes completely closed." Soothed Ranma as they flew upwards inside the heart of the winds.

The girl in his arms whimpered again. Hanging on to her ribbon, wrapped around his left ankle, Kodachi laughed in sheer joy. She'd always wanted to fly!

Mostly lost to the tempest, an occasionally 'hoho' still drifted upwards to the passenger in Ranma's arms. Soothingly, he patted Nabiki on the back of her head and muttered 'eighty percent' a few more times, feeling her marginally relax.

--

Spinning out of the top of the tornado, Ranma expertly controlled his trajectory, and landed easily, setting his passenger down gently. Kodachi tumbled through several somersaults, and bounced off the top of the circular dome while retracting her ribbon with a snap of her wrist. Gracefully, she landed next to her love in a gymnastic 'tree' position, with the arms stretched over her head like protective branches.

Examining their surroundings, they could stare down into the raging windstorm, and shudder from vertigo. Standing on a stone balcony with no railings, they saw a spiraling staircase heading downward to a shrine celebrating passion, and one ascending to what seemed to be a patch of starlight. The ceiling was slightly domed in a concave oval, and a mysterious light source illuminated the raging storm below.

Catching their breath, the group headed upwards into the dim light.

Emerging from the short staircase, and entering the top of Sky Tower left a lingering impression of majesty. The entire top level was enclosed in a protective transparent bubble, and Ranma became struck by the starry black sky. Harsh starlight glowed gently on the comfortably hanging collection of fungi populating the roof. Rows of exotic mushrooms adorned the edges of the open circular garden, occupying trenchers of lustrous metals.

Nabiki blinked as she swore the silver triangular pot holding a giant shiitake emitted a feeble whisper for help.

Identifying the throne of skulls nestled at the eastern edge of the strange garden; Kodachi spotted their hostess at last.

Not hesitating, Ranma walked boldly toward the withered elderly lady in black lounging on the obviously uncomfortably chair with jawbones sticking out at unnatural angles, and introduced his party. Those polished bones leering at them emptily must be bumpy.

Each bowed their heads in turn, when he mentioned their name. After minutes of awkward silence, their hostess finally deigned to acknowledge her visitors, directly adding to their memories her august deifications. Mother of Fire, Ruler of the Lands of the Dead, Wife to the Sky, and Mote in the Eye of Space were perhaps the most impressive. Izanami's voice spoke of secrets long buried, and enduring passions tempered into ordinary life. She reminded Kodachi of her deceased grandmother.

"A high-level ki adept, a Devil Hunter serving the Spokes, and a Japanese school girl of no significance. Is she here for a particular reason?"

"None that I can tell, great Goddess." Replied Kodachi politely, liking a fellow botanist already, though her choice in thrones left much to be desired. Personally, the Black Rose would have used the bones for fertilizer and rested her delicate ass in something neo-Victorian with lots of soft cushions.

Examining Nabiki closer, the Goddess frowned. "Her soul is old, and her current incarnation is clever and cynical. She has strong sexual attraction to power, and the symbols representing it. Because of a high libido, she is unusually manipulative. No magic potential, less corruptible thanks to family bonds. Have anything to say for yourself, girlie?" Izanami intently gazed at the normal girl, staring at her soul.

"My special power is my overwhelming strength of character!" Sneered Nabiki defiantly, shaken by the exacting analysis.

"She is our group's negotiator." Explained Ranma gravely.

Laughing like a gentle breeze, the grand olde dame smiled. "You're not as stupid as we thought, Ranma Saotome. Now, to business."

Mastering her discomfort, Nabiki suavely explained: "It is the primary focus of this expedition to remove a curse from our leader know as the 'Bane of Heirs.' While I don't doubt your power to do this, it must be done without altering otherwise sound parts of Ranma Saotome, such as his mind or other magical blessings upon his person."

"Let me examine you then Ranma Saotome, step forward." The ancient voice of the Goddess sounded hungry, but whatever nebulous abyssal fears it dredged up in the minds of his companions did not affect the cursed martial artist, who stepped closer to the throne of piled skulls.

A sickly transparent weave of power surrounded Ranma, as if a ghost were embracing him and drawing his substance into itself. This spiritual tug only lasted but a minute; a minute of eternal worry for Nabiki and Kodachi, who found themselves paralyzed in place for the duration of the strange exam.

"I detect great influences of power upon you, warrior." Croaked Izanami belligerently. "I only care about one. So you are presumptuous enough to bring that artifact into my Presence!"

Looking at Izanami, Ranma belatedly remembered Yusaku's warning involving the Amulet of Presence in the Kami realms. To keep away from Izanagi, or was it Izanami? Something about an old bitch being homicidally fixated on the Amulet. With Lin as secretary, he wondered if the fallen kami knew the difference between male and female.

Absently fingering the Amulet that ignited Izanami's temper, which he had honestly forgotten, Ranma felt an energy pulsation of great strength behind him. Walking slowly backwards, his eyes never leaving the angered goddess, Ranma vision gradually expanded to encompass a pillar of purple light.

The bottom of the pillar was made of nine broken sticks, each of them with a pointed ending dipped into primal darkness. Behind the malevolent barrier, a flaring golden circle fought for freedom. It reminded him of Kodachi's bracelet.

Raising her hand off an armrest of polished bones, the Ruler of the Land of the Dead effortlessly levitated a paralyzed schoolgirl. "The Servant of the Spokes will not be a factor in this round of 'talking.' " Hissed the ancient being. "But you may use your negotiator if you wish. Her mouth functions, though she slowly becomes sculptured marble."

The mistress of Furinken's betting pools, whose shoes were now the glistening white of sandblasted tiles, looked at him accusingly. "Don't 'eighty percent' me this time Saotome; this one is completely your fault. I warned you earlier."

Amazed her voice held so little nervousness in it, Ranma hoped Nabiki's faith in him was deserved.

-

Back in the mortal plane, late that night. . . . .

"Lin, Lin! I can't find it Lin!" Rushing around his cubbyhole office at the Martial Arts Genealogy building, Yusaku-no-kami panicked while hyperventilating.

Holding up the book the frantic man had been reading that afternoon; his secretary walked over and calmly struck him on the head with it, forcing a reaction. Dozens of emergencies had been solved in this fashion.

Eyes focusing on the object used to attract his attention, Yusaku grabbed it absently, glancing at the cover. Then he pitched it over his shoulder unconcerned, and resumed tearing his office apart.

Stunned, as the book bounced off her head, Lin wondered at the cause of such behavior. For her boss to manhandle a work of knowledge was blasphemy in his opinion.

"Yusaku, what is it you're looking for?" Asked the bewildered secretary.

"The Amulet of Presence!" He shouted frantically. "It should automatically return, but somehow it's been stolen."

"What's the big deal? That stupid bonsai talisman is only a locator on the kami planes; it doesn't really do anything." Sounding bored and puzzled, Lin looked like she wasn't sure if her boss had snapped.

Completely knowing the history and powers of the artifact he no longer possessed, Yusaku ignored this criticism. The Amulet of Presence required periodic exposure to the kami plane to maintain functioning, but why did he longer have it? A hunch told him it would return next Tuesday, but Yusaku-no-kami focused on the havoc the relic might cause in the wrong hands.

After another bout of fruitless searching, the small kami in disguise sat heavily in his personal clutter. 'Oh well,' he thought gloomily, 'its not like a major goddess will freely acquire it and invert Presence into Absence. I probably found a moron to dupe into recharging it and bungled a memory spell.'

Reassured, the man realized he was sitting on the spine of his original copy of "War God Lineages" which had its cover torn and two pages ripped out. Seething at this desecration, he yelled at Lin for hours.

-

"So what exactly is it you want?" Evaluating the amount of power being used by the Mistress of Sky Tower, Ranma did not think he could win and save his companions. Izanami would exterminate them. Gambling against permanent death was not good odds -- Yomotsu-Kuni, the Land of the Dead, had been under her mythological rule for thousands of years.

Her voice reverberated with an ultimatum: "Yield the Amulet of Presence, and I will free you and arrange for the Bane of Heirs to be removed. Otherwise I will track its progress through the astral as you perish." Completely in control, the elder goddess sounded like she looked forward to closing the deal, and either outcome appealed immensely.

"Do it! Give it to her!" Shouted Nabiki desperately, now frozen in marble up to her waist.

Hesitantly, Ranma removed the talisman from his neck, and held it out with his right hand. A wave of what his ki-senses interpreted as devouring hunger arose from the goddess. Looking at the silvery chain and simple inscribed disk, he realized he had no idea what its true purpose was. For a power like Izanami to use this level of force, it must do something wonderful.

"Lady, I yield this Amulet to you, freely of my own will, provided you do not use it to harm anyone, that you follow your earlier promise, and that no kami will ever curse me again." Holding his hands open with the trinket on display, Ranma motioned for the goddess to take it.

A tendril of dark purple energy emanated from the Izanami's forehead and levitated the amulet to a place of prominence around her neck. It settled snugly, like it had always belonged.

The pillar surrounding Kodachi ceased, and she fell heavily to her knees in near exhaustion. Nabiki's transformation reversed, and she soon became flesh and blood again.

"What will that thing do for you anyway?" Asked Ranma curiously, sensing the danger had passed.

After a brief pause, a series of images and information appeared directly inside his mind, as when introductions took place. The world as it was today in all its modern glory. People turning away from the kami for life's answers. A blasted planet becoming fertile. A beam of death transfigured into healing through the bonsai tree on the Amulet. A baby crying.

Other confusing images he couldn't understand, but the intent of the elder kami was using the Amulet as a catalyst to create life on another world, and be worshipped again. By now, Ranma easily understood more worlds existed than he could count.

Blinking away the ambitions of the goddess who had manipulated them, Ranma was greeted by the concerned faces of his companions. Nabiki looked particularly annoyed as she asked, "Izanami showed us the trap of repetition you have fallen into Saotome, but that can't be true, can it?"

"Completely." Replied their leader.

Crestfallen, Nabiki muttered to herself, "Eighty percent, my ass. Too good to be true."

"Our hostess drew the sigils of Void and Energy upon your forehead with her powers. From what I can tell, they prevent kami magic from altering your appearance or behavior. My relic informs me that while you cannot be cursed, you also cannot be healed." Sticking to the facts, Kodachi was embarrassed she couldn't have been of greater assistance.

Absorbing these details, Ranma used hot and cold ki, switching between male and female and assuring himself Jusenkyo still functioned. Finally he turned to the Mistress of the Sky, and muttered "Izzy-chan says 'storms may drift apart.' "As instructed by the old kami who directed them here.

A wave of satisfaction emanated from Izanami before she controlled herself. Then she spoke.

"Now, the answer to your heart's quest, Child of Wild Chaos." The voice coming from all direction was unforgettably multi-harmonic. Ranma suspected the goddess had used power to vibrate the air to achieve the effect, which spoke very highly of her control. The subsonic overtones inspired adulation and horror. "While I can easily cut magic from your soul, it would remove too much, leaving a pale shadow. Seek out the god's physician, who dwells inside Castle Uka. The delicate touch of his lineage can safely remove the Bane of Heirs from your inner tangles. Take the northern path, and beware the lesson you shall relearn."

A period of silence greeted the pronouncement as the humans mastered their awe.

"I have one additional condition." Added Nabiki, pressing her luck. "From what I understand we will not remember this day when we awaken tomorrow. I want Kodachi to remember she's made peace with her Grandparents."

Smiling with darkness in her eyes, the primal goddess nodded. "Very well Nabiki Tendo, you and the Servant of the Spokes will relive the spiritual lessons taught about yourselves in future dreams."

As the echoes of this judgment faded, the group's negotiator realized she hadn't specified those dreams to be pleasant or soon.

"They will unsettle you shortly girls. Now wrap everything up, your leader's day is ending. Time flows strangely upon this Shore of the Sky." Their hostess sounded matronly this time.

Looking within himself, Ranma realized the truth spoken by the goddess. Oddly, his day should have already reset, but extra time had been granted with divine intervention. The power used for this felt familiar, too.

Izanami smiled benignly at him from her Thrones of Skulls, made from the crushed followers of her husband. She reminded him of a younger Cologne.

"You tricked me!" Accused Nabiki admiringly. "I'd say 'I won't forget this' but I really will. Since I won't be myself again, I must confess, for the first time I'm sorry Akane got you." Blushing a bit, the Tendo girl allowed herself to fade.

"Ranma-sama, your word I'll be freed again, when your repetitions end."

"You know you have it, Kodachi-chan."

"Then I'm content." She too, faded.

An instant later, Ranma Saotome found herself in the koi pond. She was grateful her quest for ending the Bane of Heirs progressed, but immeasurably saddened the experiences shared with Nabiki and Kodachi were lost on the winds of time. Ranma had gained respect and appreciation for her companions during their day of bargaining with the kami. Perhaps even enough respect to seriously consider marrying them.

---

Next: "Castles of Pride"

---

--Signpost quotations on fear/good intentions from Charles Caleb Colton, (1780-1832, author, clergyman)

--Signposts: Ranma 2nd quote from Andre Malraux, Nabiki quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson, Kodachi quote is attributed to Einstein, though he may not have said it.


	13. moments12

"Castles of Pride"

---

Another day splashed down. Ranma tiredly let this one play itself, sleeping in Hinako's class.

Dozing off to the child teacher's droning, his mind drifted. Was involving others to solve his problems abusing his unending day? Had knowing the reactions Nabiki and Kodachi made him a callous manipulator? Despite his bonuses of time and foreknowledge, the Kami realms had their own rules; he was unsure allies from his world shared displaced immortality. Ranma decided to journey on alone, endangering those he cared about was irresponsible. The hardest was over, right?

----

New day. Kami gate by noon. Alone.

He crossed over, and read the sign on the crossroads, this time in simple Japanese:

"There will never be a war to end wars. Only peace will. The road to hell is not paved with good intentions, but with acts that violate those intentions. There has never been and never will be a justification for violence, as the means become the ends. "

Thinking this information strange from the perspective of an artist of war, Ranma filed it for later.

Knowing the way, he took the western path across the Land of Yomi, jogging while under the Way of the Silent Thief. Following the directions of Izanami, he maintained stealth by occasionally pausing to replenish his energies.

He passed inhumanly beautiful or grotesque kami with powerful auras. The pink multi-fanged guy with butterfly wings eating live screaming rabbits made him nervous. But the hungry looking girl with three exposed breasts on her back who licked her lips as he came within her reach disturbed him most. Perhaps they thought him insignificant, or perhaps had orders to leave him be.

Hours later Ranma arrived at the foot of Mount Uka, far from the land of Yomi. Nestling the mountain lay a magnificent palace, the home O-Kuni-Nushi and Suseri-Hime. Glancing upwards, he saw the polished white stone façade of the palace's highest tower was riddled with holes. It reminded Ranma of how the Tendo Dojo might look after the fiancée brigade finished during the flow of time.

Approaching the front gates, passing an orchard of green-blossomed cherry trees in full majesty, Ranma paused before knocking. This was a do or die solution for the Bane of Heirs, O-Kuni-Nushi might be known for inventing therapeutic medicine, but he was also known for killing all eighty of his brothers, and enjoyed a mythic reputation of intolerance.

Examining the exceptional beauty of the castle, Ranma stretched his neck for the full splendiferous impact. The fortress was an extension of the mountain, like it had been chipped out of the imposing stone over centuries (or seconds – who knew how kami magic worked?). Aside from looking completely natural with the surrounding landscape, the castle itself was gigantic, the equal of two Tokyo city blocks. The architecture featured no windows until thousands of feet upwards, where intricate balconies dominated. The overall effect was an impenetrable, beautifully crafted entrance leading up to a solid bulwark of stone, atop which rested the fanciful retreat of a little Japanese girl's dreams.

Except for those mysterious holes.

Emptying his mind, Ranma knocked on the door, using the green jade striker propped by the entrance. Judging by weight, the material that composed it was the densest he'd held. The ceremonial striker was heavier than a modern automobile, and required strength augmented by ki.

A Kappa answered, opening the castle gates. The three-foot tall turtle walked upright on two hind paws (did turtles have paws or were they called something else; Ranma wasn't sure), and had as many teeth in its little sneering mouth as he had imagined.

It hissed cutely, speaking with a voice like a soprano sucking helium: "The Forward Princess will see you now. The Deity-Master-of-this-Great-Land is out dealing with a Tokkaebi infestation near the realm's borders. Damn nosy Koreans!"

Following his guide, Ranma never could recall the inside of the fortress at Mount Uka. He remembered amazement. A Princess of the castle later explained an enchantment protected the Castle of Uka from non-allied parties. Unless personally invited by the Castle's Lord to remember, visitor's memories of the passages and decorations inside vanished upon exit.

-

After miles of hallways, Ranma turned to his guide. The mythic turtle was slowly plodding forward, down another artsy corridor.

"Hey you overgrown tadpole, why haven't we gotten there yet?" He asked in his best diplomatic voice, designed to provoke reaction.

With helium filled disdain, the little kappa returned: "Our lady is with an audience, much more important than an impudent wanderer's impatience. If you are too weak to keep up, I can carry you, much like you offered to me before."

Grimacing, Ranma suddenly wished for cucumbers, as he waited to take his next step. The Kappa's pace was glacially slow, and getting lost inside a vengeful god's house wasn't a good idea. If he had cucumbers, bribing this prideful reptile into speed would be easy.

-

They entered a huge anteroom filled by prismatic lights. Double doors made of silvery metal carved with musical instruments, medical tools, and hourglasses decorated the back wall. Finely woven tatami mats littered the floor. A masterfully played bamboo flute accompanied scintillated rainbows in an intricate midair dance; Ranma soon dismissed it as a Kami-equivalent of elevator music.

Sounding unexpectedly shrill and nervous, the little Kappa turned to its guest and screeched: "This is the audience waiting room; my Lady instructs you to dismiss me in the manner of your choice with no divine repercussion. Please wait until the double doors open."

Holding out a little clawed hand, the turtle-creature bowed, expecting a tip.

Pondering correct action, the irritated martial artist thought of Gods and tests, before remembering how he hated being jerked around.

"I may regret this, but you've annoyed me. We could have been here ages ago if you'd have let me carry you. Here's a tip: too much pride adds unnecessary time to goals!"

Rushing forward with ki-enhanced speed, the questing Martial Artist delivered a well-placed kick to the Kappa's back, rocketing the little creature down the hallway like a rampaging shell in a Mario Brother's game. Smiling happily at the thumping and shattering sounds, he waltzed over the tatami mat nearest the door.

Feeling better, Ranma settled in a lotus position at the center of the mat, awaiting his audience.

Unfortunately for him, the Kappa lied.

--

Three hours later, the carved hourglasses on the elaborate doors turned over, and they slid open.

Reverently walking inside, he felt a soothing presence, a safeness he would eventually think of as the hallmark of the divine.

The lady of Castle Uka dressed in green, wearing a gown of iridescent scales resembling finely crafted turtle shells, and an elegant jade crown tipped in emeralds. She was seated upon a high-backed, ergonomically designed chair (her husband is the God of Medicine!). She had verdant hair and eyebrows.

Suseri-Kami seemed a teensy bit upset. A vein throbbed on her immaculate forehead.

"Ranma Saotome, who is both woman and man, I know of your quest and trials. I had trivial errand prepared before aiding you, but your earlier brashness has made me believe you might perform a task of higher complexity."

Upon later reflection, Ranma wondered if puffing out his chest and proclaiming, "I am the best!" was the right response.

"Good, you are up it." The Forward Princess displayed an awful lot of teeth in her smile. "Simply put: drag my hard-headed, bratty daughter to this castle, and make her apologize!"

"Um, who is she, and what did she do?" 'And why can't you do it yourself?' he added mentally.

"Ah, she was born only a few hundred years ago, and is not really established in Earth-Realm mythology. Her name is Seruni, and her aspect is spiritual life. She should be a pushover for a tough guy like you!" Grimacing unattractively, the Goddess snarled while showing off fangs, "And she knows what she did!"

"Fine, fine, and I have your word that if I bring Seruni back to the Castle Uka and she apologizes for something, you'll remove the Bane of Heirs from me and my lineage?"

Waving a green fan displaying a flying phoenix to hide her devious smirk, the goddess assented, "Well, my husband will undo the curse, but if my progeny is humbled and contrite, it will be a small boon."

"No problem. Where is she now?"

"You'll find her training in the Plains of Pain, western path, upper fork from where you enter our domains."

An involuntary muscle spasm tightly contracted Ranma's stomach. He did what he could to alleviate it, asking: "Before I leave you, oh great Goddess, have you any guidance on this quest?" He did his best to sound humble. Belatedly recognizing too little too late.

Flipping her stylized fan shut, the wife of the God of Therapeutic Medicine stared hard at her champion, seeing a new part of his personality. Finally she answered, using the same tone as an earlier Kappa, worsening the sinking in Ranma's gut.

"A lesson you need to learn, Ranma-san, involves the most important part to experiences. Moments must end, whether it is a happy ending or an ill-considered dismissal. Without an ending, there is only stagnation, the enemy of minds. Oh, and a small tip: excessive pride extracts its price in time."

The Goddess took a moment to smile while Ranma winced at his own venom. Noting her point register, the lady of Uka sweetly ended the audience using a melodious, multi-harmonic voice: "You have a task to complete; do not return until it too has ended."

Blinking, Ranma felt disorientated.

Automatically, he rebalanced himself, wondering at the smell of crushed cherry blossoms.

Shaking off dizziness, he found himself outside the castle gates, near Mount Uka's base. Instinctively, he had balanced on his head after being teleported, and now flipped upright. Brushing dirty sakura out of his hair, he snorted at the perfume smell. Suseri-Hime dismissed her audiences in kind.

Thinking on the Forward Princess's messages, he set off. A clear task awaited, and he held the time of two worlds.

-----

No mention of a goddess named 'Seruni' existed in Tokyo's libraries. Not in the great endless public archive, nor in the hidden places kept by shrine masters and the eccentric rich.

Abandoning his failed information search, Ranma returned to the God's Realms.

Arriving in the signpost clearing, he saw smooth blank wood where the crossroads marker rested. Disappointed no message awaited; Ranma sensed a vibe, a persistent itch on his brain. Maybe Chimata-No-Kami, the god of highways and footpaths was meddling? The impression wasn't vocal or ki-recognizable, but he walked away feeling like the varnished wooden marker held a short conversation with his unconscious mind.

It had called him a stubborn fool, and his inner heart replied 'Training means you take the difficult path.'

The wooden sign had retorted 'What are you training for?'

-

The western path, upper fork extended the meadows encompassing his arrival point. The green grass along the beaten dirt track thinned out a bit, and his body easily compensated for the lack of oxygen. Despite the warm and pleasant atmosphere, Ranma's lungs told him he was fifteen thousand feet in the sky.

He didn't enter the Plains of Pain until thirty minutes later, when the air acquired a new distinct smell: Sweat, the locker-room stench of overexertion. What a T-shirt smells like as you stuff it into the gym bag after showering. The entire area's ambiance was a vast training arena. Realizing what this meant, Ranma thought 'Hot Damn! This is my kind of place.'

Whistling happily at this discovery, he sauntered across the Plains of Pain.

Barely five minutes later his cheery tune died as Ranma Saotome saw his worst nightmare in an enspelled wooden cage. Occasionally a silvery glyph sparkled along the bars, keeping the Formless Duke contained. A bunch of sweaty Kitsune hauled the demon's cage off in a faintly glowing chariot made of intricately carved gold, with a prominent sun-motif.

"Hey kid!" Greeted Nipso the Kitsune from his supervisory position atop the prison, as his band hauled the captive devil-lord back to Hell. Right now the Thing resembled a beaten up Manticore with porcupine quills.

"Holy shit!" Ranma rubbed his stomach absently where black rending claws had nearly disemboweled him.

The scraggly haired shaman snorted at the oath. "The Willow Tree Child put the Duke down right fast, this time. He didn't kill any gods." The old fox sounded disappointed.

The captive demon undulated in a shrug, and turned into a gargantuan sea urchin with lots of broken spines.

"Yeah, that little kami sure knows how to fight!" Added a red-furred fox pulling the wagon. His two partners yipped softly in agreement.

"If yer headed our way, we can give you a lift." Offered the old fox shaman. " 'Ratsu's wheels plus Tsuki-Yomi's cage means he can't bother you much."

Looking at the polished golden chariot closely, Ranma wondered if Ameratsu-Omi-Kami had really used it to haul the sun across the sky, or if it were just a metaphor. He noticed Tsuki-Yomi's cage had small cute bunnies carved into its silvery bars. The Kitsune mistook this for actual thought and gave him time to respond, pausing their labors.

"Nah, I'm here to drag the daughter of Suseri-Hime and O-Kuni-Nushi back to her parents." Answered Ranma.

Unnatural silence greeted this statement, during which a couple drops of fox-sweat spilled onto the grainy soils of the Plains of Pain.

The Formless Duke's prison escort barked in gales of laughter, and the unbroken spikes on the faux sea urchin rippled in amusement. Then it changed into a gray smilodon (pre-historic sabertooth tiger) with black void-like leopard spots, and at the center of each spot was a mouth with needle-sharp teeth. Twenty mouths were missing teeth, as if they taken a direct hard punch. All of them emitted a strange hissing laughter.

Ranma shuddered involuntarily before remembering the serenity of life beyond, resisting whatever phantom of the catfist remained.

Nipso saluted him with a snicker, and he watched the group continue toward the Infernal Domains.

A brief moment recalled his purpose: 'Gotta find the daughter of Suseri-Hime and O-Kuni-Nushi; her domain is mastery of ki inside life.'

With these thoughts, Ranma set off. Mindlessly he traveled, concentrating solely on his goal. What seemed like hours later, he ran into what looked like a five year old girl?

She had on a pink dress with a matching hairbow and slippers. Her eyes looked like starry voids, and she had the traditional black Japanese hair down to her shoulders. The interruption annoyed her.

Quoth the brat with child-like venom: "You fool, daring to trespass on my meditations! Feel the wrath of these fists for such a transgression!"

Remembering the last time he let his mouth go, Ranma appraisingly stared at the child-being in front of him, who he doubted was a little girl. Taking in a deep breath of the exertion filled atmosphere, Ranma smiled a 'bring-it-on and let's see what happens' smile.

"Bleh, who do you think you are? A princess? A spirit of the land? A god?" Ranma laughed at the little arrogant runt who reminded him of himself. Then he wondered at how said brat went completely undetected by his ki-senses until he stumbled over her.

"Meanie! Meanie! I'll show you what it means to mock royalty in the spiritual plane! Take my strongest attack and like it!" The girl-child was incensed.

Still laughing, Ranma made a confidant come hither motion, like when calling over a dog.

She started to laugh with him for a bit, with a clear, free voice, like willow leaves dancing in the wind. Sobering, she took a strange, braced stance, legs tense against the ground. "You asked for this one; if you passed that test of pride we could have played go instead," explained the kid while focusing power. Ranma noticed the delicate embroidery around the sleeves on her dress, which now that he thought about it, was a leotard or bodysuit with a modest skirt.

"Ka." A whitish-pink energy speck materialized between the 'lil tyke's cupped hands. It glowed softly.

The embroidery on her sleeves, invisible unless light hit them a certain way, looked like the leafy vines of willow trees.

"Mi.." A ball of pink light built quickly, like an inflating carnival balloon . . . . . . . . .

Remembering his mythology as the attack built, Ranma recalled some story about Suseri-hime abandoning a girl in the branches of willow tree at the fork of a road.

"Hi!" Built quickly into a snarling vortex barely contained by the fledgling's hands.

Understanding hit hard, and Ranma suddenly doubted he could dodge.

"Me!!" Tendrils of pink power leaped hungrily outward, and shades of pink seemed to evaporate from the girl's body. Her hair floated nearly vertically in a corona of whitish-pink light. With the last syllable, she released a massive burst of power larger than a tidal wave as she pointed her hands outwardly toward Ranma. "HA!!!"

Unprepared for the Fist of the God Princess (Kamihime-Ha), Ranma found herself starting another day in the Koi pond.

--

She was supposed to discipline that? The kid was Seruni-kami; only a goddess whose domain was spiritual mastery could use an attack like that.

Sure, the little kami knocked out that stupid scary demon, but it had blindsided her after an exhausting fight with that Oni group. At full power, Ranma Saotome could probably slaughter it!

Conveniently forgetting a conversation with Nabiki coaxed her back into the Kami realms after that brush with mortality, she knocked Genma out. None had witnessed her defeat by such an embarrassingly colored attack. Shuddering reflexively, Ranma wondered at this newfound aversion to the color pink, blaming Azusa Shiratori.

-

"Are you gonna play nice this time mister?" Not that surprised to see Ranma again, Seruni-kami arched an eyebrow. The go-board in front of her faded out as her attention focused elsewhere.

"You are Seruni-Hime, the Willow Tree Child, daughter of Suseri-Hime and O-Kuni-Nushi?" He had to make sure.

The girl nodded. "And you are Ranma Saotome, son of Genma Saotome, daughter of Nodoka, the Wild One. Mom told me you were coming to spar as her champion; if you win, I agree to her terms."

Ranma finished maneuvering his ki into a spiritual containment warding, and slammed the circle of energy down around entity he had come for. The Plains of Pain echoed with backlash, and briefly radiated satisfaction as power was drawn into the hungry ground.

"Oooh, nice trick!" Seruni applauded from behind him as her after-image faded. "Too bad you are dealing with one of the Gods themselves!"

She snapped her fingers, and Ranma felt a thousand invisible knives hit his vital points. Holding on to consciousness was a losing proposition; nothing could move that fast, right?

A faint chiding female voice, followed him into unconsciousness, "You've chosen the harder path." It told him, with a hint of disappointment. "We won't be playing Go, and it will take you forever to end the battle you have chosen. What will you do with the power you must gain?"

His last thoughts were simple; he'd help people, of course!

---

"Ok brat, this time we'll see just how good we both are." Rushing at the little girl, Ranma began doing his utmost to hit her.

Unconcerned, she dodged every blow, like he was a clumsy ox. Grimacing, he switched female, but the added speed was matched, Seruni became faster, her long black hair swaying as she dodged.

Giving herself up to the exchange that ranged across the lazy meadows, Ranma slipped into a state close to mind-no-mind until she allowed frustrated anger to seep in. Part of the plan.

"Hi-Ryu-Shoten-Ha!" He yelled it with vindication, releasing the uppercut around the dodging godling. This time the winds whirled counter-clockwise, since she was the angry one while the five-year old remained calm.

Exposing the huge inherent flaw in the technique, Seruni flew away, settling down away from the windstorm. Drawing on Ranma's anger, the storm left her exhausted when it died four minutes later.

"Your determination is amusing." Giggled the young goddess, her pink crystal eyes whirling. "But, I'm faster than you, have better control of my energy, and only a slack-jawed moron would expect an opponent to remain still for a ki-tornado!"

Oddly, Ranma couldn't help but experiencing a sense of having lived this before, from the other end. It reminded her of meeting a certain Tendo girl and being asked for friendship.

Walking over to where the defeated Saotome sprawled, panting with energy exhaustion, Seruni tapped lightly on her forehead with a toe.

"If you want to fight for real, master how you escaped from the Formless Duke." Tipped the goddess gently.

Groaning, Ranma barely moved her tired head up and down in a phantom nod as she breathed near the sweat soaked soil. The pink-clad kami-child wandered off ending this sparring session. Unlike Akane, when faced with a vastly superior, yet friendly opponent, Ranma embraced the challenge.

-----

Dealing with the Panda and cutting school, he leaned on the fence by the canal, thinking. Like summer lightning striking a small sapling next to a towering oak, Ranma was stuck by insight.

"Hey! That Goddess called me a slack-jawed moron!" Incensed, he vowed to kick her ass before returning to his new technique-to-be.

He knew little of the Nanban Mirror; Happosai had put it inside him, creating this endless day. Indirectly he could access part of its power. In the realm of the March Hare, he had learned how to center, and he believed breaking out of the repeating loop was merely an extension of that, like accessing the Kami Domains.

Consciously teleporting across time and space but once, while in mortal danger from the Formless Drake consuming his soul, left no good examples. More concerned with escape that observation; he wasn't repeating that nightmare for instructional purposes.

Long ago he'd used the mirror to visit ancient China and meet young Cologne; tears turned it on. That didn't help when the mirror was literally inside his blood.

Musing briefly on timetravelling, Ranma decided to forego experimentation. The Bane of Heirs was his priority.

Settling into a lotus position on the short grass next to the canal, he began remembering sad times. He remembered missing his mother during the training trip, in the early years. 'Suck it up and be a man. Real men don't cry.' Counseled the Genma of his memories. He felt heavy chi building, and ignored depression, seeking grief.

Ranma succeeded in feeling shitty, but was no closer to mastering the mirror.

Abandoning sadness, he released the heavy ki into the canal, sending a spume of vapor fountaining in the morning air. A small rainbow glittered briefly before Jusenkyo reminded him not to play with water.

Ruefully she walked off toward an abandoned place with no distractions – the school library.

-

Sneaking into Furinkan and settling into a deserted section of the library, Ranma had uninterrupted quiet for her next idea. Taking ten minutes for observation, she noted the stacks of books in the philosophy section, the faded gray-green carpet, and the wooden desk/cubicle in front of her. A picture of Principle Kuno leaning between two coconut trees rested prominently on the above wall, presumably to remind delinquents they were being watched.

The picture was beyond ugly, and a student had tastefully given the principal a mustache and devil horns with black permanent marker.

Gently rising, Ranma carefully took the artwork off the wall, disarming the tripwires and vandalism alarms. Grinning madly, she smashed it into itty-bitty shreds, and then danced a relaxing kata involving crushing downed opponent's throats on the pieces.

She stomped em good.

Happily, she fixed this scene of mayhem in her mind's eye, savoring the broken grass frame and small confetti sized bits of ripped Kuno-art on the greenish carpet. Like when entering the Kami Realms, she centered herself by thinking of the roof of the Tendo Dojo

Then she tried -going- to the roof of the Tendo Dojo by willing herself there. She tried so hard she lost track of the world around her, and suddenly was exactly where she wanted to be.

Ignoring a faint feeling of light-headedness, Ranma immediately built upon her victory, attempting to will herself back to the library. And she went!

Giddy with success, she translocated four or five times before falling off the dojo roof in a dead fifteen foot faint, to be shortly found by a concerned Kasumi.

--

Groggily, she came to in a hospital bed, noting her extreme weakness. A monitor beeped with a steady rhythm, and with great annoyance Ranma realized she had to pee and had IV needles impaling the crevices of her inner arms.

Nodoka's vigil ended, and she gently patted her child's forehead. "All is well my son; they spoke of attempted suicide, but found no wounds. Very perplexing to the doctors when faced with a healthy body having forty percent of the blood it should contain."

With great effort, Ranma mouthed the words 'new technique.' Then she lay back and waited for the day to end, as her smiling mother held up a bright yellow bedpan.

Snarling mentally at the artifact inside her, Ranma vowed no vampiric magical gizmo would drain her!

With a bit of practice, this technique would take its rightful place among the arsenal. That brat wouldn't have a chance once she figured out how to overlap.

----

"So you've mastered the mirror? This might be interesting then!" Seruni-chan jumped up and down with glee, the starry infinities that made her eyes dancing a merry yellow with her joy. She looked like any other cute five year old with a new toy, ready to play.

Pausing from where he'd materialized behind her in an attempted sneak attack, Ranma betrayed no surprise. While the Nanban Mirror still weakened him substantially with repeated use, he could manage about two or three teleports and stay in fighting shape.

"Just to make fair," sing-songed Seruni playfully, "watch closely!"

Wide-eyed, he observed his opponent balance on her nose while clapping her hands once straight-armed behind her back. Then she touched her elbows using the hand of the same arm, before somersaulting upright and juggling six types of distinct ki-forms in each hand. Ringed ice, flickering heat, spinning air, jagged lightning, pulsating life, and a sphere of serenity in the right hand, and empty shadow, a cube of fire, a necklace of water, and three energies he didn't recognize in her left hand.

Stopping her show of capabilities, the godling looked directly at him, and spoke with a ki voice made of determination beyond fate. "Ranma Saotome, there is absolutely no way for you to defeat me." Galaxies spun inside her endless eyes.

He opened his mouth with a heated refusal just as she turned her wrist and sent a forked beam of what his higher senses told him was solid air-ki streaking directly upwards.

Two beings, who were also Ranma Saotome, found their day now at an end as their spiritual selves reset in a silvery streak. Their physical selves splattered among the grateful soils of the Plains of Pain, before diffusing into energy motes.

"Now I've defeated you ten times already. I'll give you a free shot; what the heck! Even though it was impolite of you to try and blindside me." Tsking gently, Seruni spread her arms and waited, her long black hair blowing out behind and around her pink outfit with an invisible wind.

Concentrating hard, Ranma poured out his soul. Knowing he could easily teleport back with his internal Nanban Mirror, he flung his life away. Every ounce of ki within his body, including the energy supporting his mortal coil, powered this final attack. Falling to his knees with the strain, he whispered grandly "The Sharp Edge of Nirvana!" then collapsed into the gritty dirt.

Thousands of emotions, given life by ki, streaked toward the Willow Tree Child. In the instant of death, when Ranma's life flashed before him, he seized every emotion, each learning experience, and added striking power. As with every invocation of the Sharp Edge, the ki-lances differed in intensity, power, color, depth, speed, and angle.

"Interesting," muttered Seruni from behind her pinkish-purple shield of beauty and dread and wonder. She absorbed four or five threads, and dodged the dozen remaining emotive beams not deflected by her barrier.

Turning to the nearest observing Ranma Saotome, the diminutive goddess grounded the remaining energies and dropped her overlapping layered defense, letting her hair settle. "Your storm of ultimate emotion failed. While I have never experienced consummated love or dark insanity, they cannot penetrate a barrier anchored upon emotions sharing their components."

A nod agreed with her evaluation.

Drawing herself up to the full three and half feet, the godling slowly turned in place until she had made a complete circle on the Plains of Pain. Smoothing a wrinkle in her pink skirt, she stretched a bit, popping a couple vertebrae in her back. Smiling, she noted the locations of Ranma Saotome.

"Playtime starts!" Exclaimed Seruni-chan gleefully as she sent a lance of power streaking at a group of three Ranmas working in tandem. "Bring it you brainless minions!"

"Who you calling a 'brainless minion' you stupid squirt!" Yelled seven Saotomes simultaneously from within the Way of the Silent Thief

"Shut it you morons!" Screamed an observing Ranma heatedly, identifying how Seruni-chan found him so easily.

Suddenly five tornadoes spun madly together in a star pointed pattern around the goddess. Ignoring them, she swiftly knocked Ranma Saotomes out in rapid physical exchanges, each taking thirty seconds or less. The mounting winds sent her hair and dress flying about madly, and Seruni laughed in delight while flinging bursts of pink power.

As the last of Umi-Sen-Ken cloaked attackers fell, the twisters had built into heavens and were gouging holes in the ground like giant drills. "Now!" Said the Ranma-coordinator with a massive ki-voice that was nearly lost in the roaring winds.

"First Rate Flying Dragon Descent Bomb!" Shouted five ki-voices in tandem as a major assault commenced. Thanks to the various syllables of name corresponding to ki-manipulation techniques in gathering the strike, the five separate attackers synchronized energies, achieving resonance.

The ki inside the huge tornadoes condensed into eleven meter balls, which flew down at Seruni's position like a well orchestrated ballet group. Similar to the attack defeating Herb and ending the quest for the Open Water Kettle, but much more powerful. It contained the contradiction of yin vs. yang in addition to hot and cold, thanks to the two tornado creators being Ranma-chans.

The energies crackled together like a plasma net, and combined into a huge blob hundreds of feet across hurtling down at the smirking goddess.

Two more Ranmas appeared with a burst of silvery Nanban energy, and one in the female aspect attempted to hit Seruni with Yin-charged Buzzing Fists (bursts of compressed air). The other in male form used the Stationary Grapple heavily enforced with Yang on the meadow around the godling, enveloping her legs completely in a prison of Earth.

"A sacrifice ploy?" Mused the five-year old girl, delighting in her foes' ingenuity. "I don't think so."

Gathering her energies in a complex pattern, causing the willow leaves embroidered on her outfit to shine, she screamed out: "Cry of a Cherished Soul!" while throwing a vertical kick which didn't connect, much like uppercut required to start a Hi-Ryu-Shoten Ha. It broke through the Stationary Grapple as if the medium-level ki attack was rice paper.

All spiritual attacks centered on the Goddess reversed direction, striking at their creators. The massive combined ki-bomb flew directly upwards. The Buzzing fists returned to pummel their sender, and the Ranma attempted the Stationary Grapple became buried alive.

"As expected." Muttered the observing Ranma from the outskirts of the one-sided battle.

-

Thousands of feet above the Meadows of Pain, a trio of Ranma Saotomes hovered, careful not to touch, channeling lightning-ki. As the massive rebounding blast approached, they whispered together to coordinate "The Ultimate Mystery! Thunder Snake Heaven's Retribution!"Before hurtling into the heart of the raging ki-inferno.

Now composed of yin, yang, cold, heat, Seruni's strange polarity reversal, air, and lightning, the globe of dazzling power screamed downward toward the Goddess again. This time the inspiration came from Ashura's fight against Pantyhose Taro, which had been ended by a --huge-- lightning strike from above.

Judging by the power inside it, Ranma thought this attack might devastate a city like Tokyo.

-

Detonation at Seruni's estimated location caused a medium magnitude earthquake to shake the Plains of Pain. The secondary shockwave knocked him off his feet and rolled him across a few hundred feet of sparse grassy meadows. When the dust settled, revealing a crater at least a mile in radius, Ranma walked to maw of the depression and examined his handiwork.

"That was impressive." Complemented Seruni as she faded into view on his right. "However the problem with all large scale ki-bombs is they travel too slow. Any entity with more intelligence than an earthworm that it takes one to defeat, can dodge. You have to make the energy compressed and fast or confuse your target into a confined area."

"I thought I had distracted you." Confessed Ranma.

"Oh, you mean your possibility reflections? Those were easy; my full attention was occupied looking for the real attack."

Noting the downcast expression adopted by her sparring partner, Seruni decided to cheer him up. "Don't worry, even an attack like that wouldn't defeat me if it hit. I used to spar with Aji-Suki-Taka-Ki-Hone until the old lightning bug got tired of losing." The five-year old consoled gently, patting him on his upper leg. "Now show me what else you've got!"

Stunned the ancient Japanese God of Thunder couldn't match the brat, Ranma re-evaluated what level of force he should use. Could she be invincible?

"To be honest, my other, useless plans are nothing but tricks and misdirection designed around large ineffective ki-bombs. I'll return later. You'll be here, right?"

Seruni nodded with veiled anticipation, looking deceptively cute. "Waiting is of no consequence. Kami-time relative to your reality-bubble only advances when you are present. You already know that."

Bowing low, Ranma faded, ready to face the consequences of Nanban Overlap.

"Here's a final hint," added Seruni, "I'm not your real opponent." But Ranma had already disappeared and her message went unheeded in the warm empty air.

---

Next: The Path of Inevitable Mastery

---

--Ranma 3rd signpost, from "The Individual and the Nature of Mass Events" by Jane Roberts p277 paraphrased

--Seruni-Hime was planned from the beginning, her name is parentally derived: 'Ser' from SuSERi-hime and 'Uni' from O-kUNI-Nushi.

Author's Notes: 8/2k4 revision -- took out the Japanese names for Ranma's two coordinated uber-attacks and replaced them with English versions for better story flow. Added a bit more foreshadowing and detail, while removing unnecessary information.


	14. moments13

"Ranma, You Idiot!"

----------------------

The dramatic fadeout left Ranma amidst the koi, pondering paradox as she took care of Genma. Manipulating Nanban space-time could re-fight the battle she had already lost, but to what end?

She didn't make the distractions during her skirmish with the goddess. But she had seen herself, or at least other Ranma Saotomes. Snorting, she decided to forget the whole thing -- a useless waste of even infinite time. Probability anomalies; not unlike contemporary physics could account for the reality of dimensional hopping. Nothing to do with her.

Unexpectedly, Ranma doubled over in agony, like her blood had started a slow boil.

Performing ki-probing to identify the pain's cause led to traces of silvery energy in her blood. Where the Nanban Mirror's dissolved ghost rested.

Was this the price of paradox?

Ranma Nanban-willed herself back to the finished battle, as a test.

She found herself flanking the Seruni-chan on the left side, and threw ki-flashbombs of compressed air, utilizing a variation of the buzzing fist.

"Cry of a Cherished Soul!" Yelled Seruni, throwing an energy kick that didn't connect with anything tangible.

"Ah, damn," said Ranma, knowing what would happen. Her attacks backlashed, pummeling her with hot burning air and brilliant lights.

Rubbing her eyes, she wondered why her danger sense kept screaming. Annoyed, sure it wasn't really brighter than noon, Ranma looked upwards – into a ki bomb powerful enough to destroy Tokyo.

--

"Forgot about that thing," mused Ranma to the koi on her head, noting she felt a bit better.

Dealing with Genma, the frustrated time tamperer changed back to male, and fled to his special spot near the river, a place where he wouldn't be bothered.

"Ok you stupid magic gizmo, we are talking. I see no point in returning to useless futilities."

Ranma swore the dissolved Nanban Mirror growled at him! Perhaps the blood around his eardrums had merely changed temperature.

Oddly, he got the idea one or two instances of parallelization were forgivable if uncomfortable. No artifact might do more. He was sure the thought wasn't his, but it made perfect sense.

"You can hear me." Ranma smiled through the pain, knowing battle approached.

It made perfect sense to go back: too many unresolved simul-paths might unravel his soul. No wait, that didn't make sense.

"I'm not an idiot!" Ranma punched the grass, fighting mental dissonance. This entire exercise was to establish dominance and find edges of limitations.

I'm sure I'm right! I can fight this paradox attack off all by myself, and be fine.

He recognized sarcasm not his own, before the pain came. Fighting paradox caused his internal mirror to vibrate. It hurt, worse than any cramp or ache encountered during the art; like jumping in a lake of boiling water under the cat-tongue pressure point, but more insistent.

He didn't know how long he remained steadfast. All consuming pain obliterated his sense of passing time. In an instant that extended an eternity, Ranma gave in.

He Nanban-teleported in the air above Seruni, hoping to blindside her early. His day ended in a silvery streak as he became energy motes.

-

Soon days blurred together like dominoes. Each Nanban overlap cost a repetition; Ranma felt like his memories of what real life was like slipping further away.

-----

After recovering, he looked in the phonebook, and circled styles with listed masters. The usefulness of the yellow pages as a resource for obscure dojo locations served beyond his expectations.

-

"Jinbei Tetsuo of the Firedancing School, I challenge you!" Yelled Ranma across a swaying rope bridge, shifting over an active volcanic vent. The magma pool beneath bubbled erratically. A cloaked figure turned and nodded.

-

"Kuretsai of the Spinning Drones, I challenge you!" The beekeeper bowed, as he let chi infuse the stingers and wings of his charges.

-

"Master Won Shu Sheng, I challenge you!" Yawning, the wrinkled ancient troll-like midget threw a net a ki, entrapping the nuisance before resuming his nap on a blue dojo mat. 'Much to learn here,' thought a struggling Saotome.

-----

With new tricks, Ranma moved to mastering the appropriate props.

"Thanks for letting me use the range, lieutenant." The officer nodded. "No problem son, police work would be a good career with your talent."

-

Engine roars filled the air as an F-15 took off on a counter-espionage fly-over. Officers ran around the Okinawa base like a disturbed nest of fire ants.

"Sergeant, don't give me that line of crap! Rocket launchers and kiloton bombs don't vanish into thin air!" The raving colonel was tearing the poor soldier a new one. His English not good enough to appreciate the fine art of military cussing, Ranma Nanban-teleported away with the arms cache he'd stolen under the Umi-sen-ken.

-

Sorry to have abused Dr. Miyamoto's trust, even indirectly, Ranma stuffed the experimental solenoid laser into her weapons-space. She teleported as alarm klaxons summoned security to the high-energy research area.

-----

Appearing in a burst of Nanban power, Ranma bowed before the Willow Tree Child. "I am ready to resume now." He announced placidly.

Staring intensely at her opponent, the little girl frowned. "I am prepared, though I grieve you are not stronger."

At peace, Ranma watched four male versions of himself appear with overlapping silvery coronas. They rapidly dispersed to the compass points surrounding the godling, while he levitated above her with a variation of vacuum flight.

Knowing the costs of overlapping, Ranma now exercised greater care.

Unconcerned at being flanked, Seruni-kami sighed, disappointed. "I understand now. Being locked by a temporal signature prevents your physical and spiritual tolerances from strengthening with practice. Your willpower is immense."

As one, five Saotomes hidden weapons-materialized a pair of magnum forty-fours (one in each hand) and opened fire from five angles. Knowing the speeds the child moved, they fired at her real location and at her probable locations, using the dead accuracy perfected with weeks of practice at police ranges.

Moving faster than Ranma could perceive, Seruni became a pink and black blur as she dodged bullets. Halfway through the clips, he was proved correct in his suspicion, as the goddess moved backwards when a bullet struck one of her limbs. The speeds used made it unclear whether an arm or leg took the shot. Aside from a small change in her dodging pattern, the hit did no damage.

Gunfire stopped and calm reloading commenced. Watching this ritual, Seruni happily commented, "That was fun; we don't have weapons like these." She opened her hands, exposing the bullets she had caught. "Fast but ineffective."

"You let yourself be hit." Stated Ranma Saotome at the south compass point.

"Heh, you could tell? I wanted to see the force your weapons contained." Laughing, she tossed the bullets away. "Pathetic! Don't expect me to retain an unfavorable field position."

Relieved the Goddess was really a child in some ways, Ranma-west bantered back. "I wouldn't dream of it. My next trick is called 'Wildfire Burning in the Rain.' Prepare yourself."

The little girl smiled, sending lazy lances of light streaking at the Ranmas surrounding her with a wave of her wrist. With a Nanban flash, a female Ranma Saotome appeared, frowning at the streaking lines of light. Holding up a small metal disc with five holes punched in it, she delicately used the Happo Go En Satsu technique to steal the power of the strange spears of light. She didn't even have time for the Energy Return before Seruni moved in and banished her by snapping her neck.

Ranma-chan bought needed time.

'Wildfire Burning in the Rain' derived from a combination of high level chi techniques learned from the masters he had challenged. The Firedancing School provided the ability to imbue weapons with flame, allowing additional damage. Kuretsai of the Spinning Drones had shown the of use chi in guiding small objects in coordinated assault. Master Won Shu Sheng and his nets developed a direction and purpose behind the assault.

During this small pause, the five gun wielding men switched to semi-automatics taken from the arms cache of the Okinawa base. Imbuing the ammo casings with enough fire-ki that bullets were on the brink of exploding, Ranma Saotome fired.

Times five.

Like a startled hummingbird, the Goddess flew straight up, delivering a dynamic purple ki-uppercut with her aura while smacking bullets away. The hovering Ranma hurtled away with a pulverized weapon, resetting into silver energy motes. The bullets exploded upon contact with her hands, slightly throwing the Willow Tree Child off, until her purple corona-shield grew brighter, stabilizing her.

The repeat of semi-auto fire echoed mercilessly.

Drawn by the ghost of their destroyed companions, a hail of bullets glowing with ethereal red ki-flames unerringly sought the kami-child. A bizarre inverted rainstorm of shimmering fire. Wildfire Burning in the Rain.

Seruni streaked away, sending dots of ki towards the bullets following her, causing them to explode in two foot fireballs as they sought revenge.

Soon Ranma Saotome ran out of ammo and watched, admiring and disappointed at his latest failure.

In ten seconds, the Goddess destroyed the bullets following her with precision beyond human. Made of ineffective two-foot fireballs, a huge kanji statement decorated the sky.

It read, "Nice try."

A Kami-Hime-Ha slammed into the shooters, leaving a crater and ending their days.

----

Three hits from Genma sent Ranma-chan flying out of the pond, and reminded her integrating memory sets wasn't a good idea right now. The Fist of the God Princess had just blown her to bits for the fourth time. Annoyed, her father broke a sign over her head reading 'Pay Attention Boy!'

Ranma reached into herself, down into her inner volcano the Firedancing School had made her aware of, and called her Flame. Sending the old man into the air with a red flaming kick, she pointed at the aerial bear and used fire-ki like a confidence blast.

The flaming panda was doused in the waters of koi.

Grumbling as she went inside, trying to analyze combat memories, Ranma noticed a smirking Nabiki joining them for breakfast.

"Why Miss Lina, however did your chest get so big?" Asked Kasumi dreamily as she served.

The Tendo girls laughed at Ranma, who had never seen the Slayers.

Non-responsive, the red haired girl silently thought of the Willow Tree Child's destruction. Was this the same angry rage Akane felt, when she finally understood how pitiful her skill levels were compared to Ranma's own?

This was a moment missed.

-

The memories integrated during class, and Ranma sadly concluded he wasn't good enough to beat Seruni, and even with infinite time, might never be.

"I won't accept it! I can't accept it!" Roared Ranma in denial, forgetting he was quietly sitting at a desk.

"Delinquent!" Hinako-sensei used her signature attack; happy the monotony of teaching was broken.

Recalling times with Master Won Shu Sheng, Ranma looked at the incoming energy drain as a thread from a net, and with a flick of ki, deflected it to Akane.

"Enough." Snarled the heir to Musubetsu Kakuto Ryuu. "Take me to a technique that will defeat Gods," demanded Ranma, focusing hard on the Powers who bested him. Seruni, Izanami, and the Formless Duke were obliterated by the undefined might he sought with his will.

"Stop!" Shouted his teacher in vain.

Eagerly, the Nanban Mirror inside Ranma awoke at the thirst for destruction. The air cracked violently as he disappeared in a burst of darkling silver light.

"Miss Tendo, when you can move again, tell Mr. Saotome he has detention for disrupting class." Hinako-adult sounded unsteady.

Akane shuddered. The energy that had consumed her fiancé felt evil enough for her to seek Cologne's help despite her wedding grudge against Shampoo. She was going there now.

When she could move again.

---

Teeth ripped his soul, and a thousand bloody pinpricks leeched vitality across his body. A barrier held him back, but allowing the artifact free reign, Ranma found himself compressed impossibly small and thrust across a hole.

As he traveled, incredible torment met indomitable will.

With a thud he landed in darkness on a hard, smooth floor. Barely able to move from life-drain, the martial artist achingly stood, feeling disorientated in the dark.

His eyes did not adjust, and Ranma feared the mirror had blinded him.

Reaching deep within, he conjured a simple construct of visible ki: a sphere of light. It flickered as he struggled to the find power to maintain it.

Blinking, he saw a tiny room with no exit, a prison cell. The strange walls enclosed him snugly, and his arrival had happened in the room's exact center. He had an urge to stretch his arms and touch the walls, but his raw senses screamed 'No!'

The gray walls, which weren't stone, metal, or plastic, felt like death.

Looking around, the room's décor consisted of a pedestal holding a black, non-threatening cube. Rusted chains decorated the floor near the object, as if their protection had been shed over centuries. Ranma received the impression the walls had acquired their color by radiation from this cube.

Approaching while limping with both legs, he saw squiggles covering the pillar. Like mad spiders, they twitched before settling into Japanese: "Power mad fools seek me. I kill those who use me. The Shimmer Void hungers!"

Ranma hesitated.

He pictured the Catfist manual with its warning of 'Only an idiot would teach this!' Ranma realized he was reaching for the cube. He wondered if his pride was making foolish choices. He might save himself by walking away.

Maybe he should leave, and use the technique of last resort he hadn't tried. Distaste and disdain crossed his face, directed inward.

Limping back from the simple pillar, Ranma pondered what he could lose. His physical and spiritual self were immune from change during this endless day, and with a proper balance of serenity, his mind should be fine.

Why not try it? Was being a power-mad fool worse than being an idiot?

The thought the mirror brought him into a non-place with different laws occurred after he grasped the cube.

He fell into Hell. Like being exploded and imploded, like stuffing enough sand into a pickle jar that the glass burst under the pressure.

The artifact calmly said, "Ranma, you idiot," before eating him. In this fleeting moment, he understood idiots and power-mad fools to be the same.

His curse began triggering randomly, leaving parts female or male in a weird amalgam.

The cube of appeared around him, sucking all that he was inside at an uneven rate. The walls shimmered with a dark alien sheen, black on black. Annihilation.

Standing on the verge of insanity and death, on an island far removed from good and evil, the residue of the Nanban Mirror acted to preserve itself, and indirectly, its host.

Ranma Saotome fell into the Koi pond.

With a painful wrenching, Jusenkyo proved relentless, and Ranma returned totally female.

Barely dragging her head above water, she blacked out.

---

Shimmer Void. An emotional state no sane mind might conjure. Ranma could now replicate it imperfectly.

He didn't wish it on his worst enemy.

Next time, and their would be a next time, Ranma would walk away. This lesson he'd learned enough times to finally understand.

---

"What's wrong boy!" Growled Genma at his heir as they sparred. He could tell the boy was toying with him, not thinking about the exchange of blows taking place. Several counters were potentially lethal moves, ones Ranma rarely used. The boy's behavior this morning felt evil, like malevolence chained but not contained.

Surprised his father picked up the negative undertones from his latest experience, Ranma answered truthfully.

"I found a technique which I must seal, one so horrible I could not use it to save my life."

Abruptly Genma stopped sparring, something he hadn't done of his own free will in years of identical days. Ranma long ago learned a hole in his father's defense to instantly end their morning spar with a knockout; until now exploiting that weakness was the only way of stopping Genma's assault, aside from injuring his father severely.

Sensei-like, the older man looked at his son. "I too once believed I had created techniques like you speak of. The Master," Genma shuddered reflexively, "Happosai told me 'you must master the technique before it masters you,' and he was completely correct."

Ranma looked shocked. This was good advice.

"Mastering the Sen-Ken techniques was trivial. As I feared, their use ended tragically. The Duty of a Martial Artist is to protect the weak, even if he protects them from himself."

His father referred to what happened to the Kumons.

"Listen boy, the story isn't over yet!" Genma cajoled, spinning out things his son had never known. "After performing the Seal, I found myself reluctant to grow in the Art, always fearing I'd invent new terrifying ravages of destruction. Be warned, Ranma, at the consequences of your actions."

"What would you know about that old man?" Sneered the teenager, impudently, remembering who had brought countless troubles to them both.

"Show me the technique, and I'll tell you." Answered Genma, intensely, matching the sneer with hint of the forbidden.

Uncertainty flashed across his face, but Ranma shouted at his father, "Fine! Pop, follow me, it isn't safe here."

-

They arrived at an abandoned lot, blocks from the Tendo dojo, and Ranma had thought the old fart would never miss breakfast for anything. A ruined mansion occupied the lot; a fire and the Japanese property market meant no one lived here, or would for years. Now a half demolished building decorated an overgrown field of boulders and grass.

"What is the principle behind your technique?" Genma believed nothing could be as devastating as vacuum, the space between suns. The Kijin Ryu Dan embodied this force, more horrible than a Demon or God. He suspected his son discovered the terrifying principle of negation.

The silence drew out between the father and son, and the sun glistened on several boulders, which had once been a Buddhist garden.

"It is called Shimmer Void." Muttered Ranma in a small, quiet voice with understated dread.

Nodding sagely, Genma wasn't surprised it was a void technique. The Yuurei-Sen-ken, the abandoned Ghost of a Thousand Fists, left him feeling oddly empty. Food, lots of food, made the feeling go away.

"Carefully boy," whispered Genma, "when dealing with darkness, always remember you are you and It is It. Otherwise it has a way of mixing into you, leaving pollution in your spirit."

Observing his son looked less afraid, the older man nodded seriously, emphasizing the importance of his words.

As Ranma began drawing darkness into a ball between his hands, an ugly sheen of black beyond black that shimmered malevolently in sunlight, Genma produced no visible reaction.

He hadn't expected the boy to reach this level until his mid-twenties, but after Phoenix Mountain, he had learned of Ranma's true ki-potential. While Genma hadn't walked away unscathed from the Void, he would make sure his son did.

"Release!" Boomed Genma Saotome commandingly, before his son manifested more darkness than a man might handle.

A wave of dark annihilation flew from Ranma's hands, absorbing a tree, some old foundation supports and half a car-sized boulder. Where the attack terminated it looked like a million jagged teeth had eaten a thousand bites of stone and soil.

Unmoved as his son shuddered from touching evil, Genma Saotome, the Dark Horse, watched Ranma realize he was still alive.

"Again." He demanded, relentless. Not flinching at his growling stomach, the head of the Saotome clan knew it would be hours before his son won against the Void.

-

Against his will, trained by his father a final time, Ranma Saotome mastered the Shimmer Void. Would it remain sealed eternally?

-----

He spent the week living it up at Japan's tastiest restaurants with Nabiki's money. Procrastination was pointless, but needed time to collect himself. After his relaxing seven days, Ranma entered the Kami Realms through the Shikoku Gate. Best to give the brat time to calm and walk over.

---

The varnished wooden marker held a new message:

"Super-beings got you down? Willow Tree Children putting shade in your sunshine? The God of Crossroads recommends trying his own special branch of Martial Whoop-Ass! Only four years and ninety five days of servitude, trivial to a timeless being. Act now to accept this limited offer!"

Ranma Saotome looked at the sign with longing and distaste.

"No thanks."

Slowly walking along the road, upper fork western path, Ranma slowly traveled to the Plains of Pain. Today was the end.

--

Twenty minutes away from the Goddess, he rediscovered the rest of the arms cache he'd stolen from the American military base. Kiloton bombs and rocket launchers lay next to a bunch of high-powered rifles.

"Useless." He snorted, hiding a couple grenades in his weapon space, because you never knew when you'd need a grenade.

Two steps away, a brilliant solution to his dilemma appeared in a burst of silvery Nanban light.

His female side approached and handed him a pulsating hunk of reddish brown metamorphic rock. "Volcanic ki focus. You'll get memory washed to avert paradox. We have the idea after the little brat's first counter." She disappeared with a Nanban flash, leaving a white afterimage on his retinas.

'A chance!' Thought Ranma with dawning hope. The ki-focus technique he'd played with long ago, but thanks to physical reality resetting, it had proven useless. The Kami-Planes didn't reset with him!

"Yes, yes, we are an idiot." Agreed another copy of himself who handed off a sparking Tesla Coil charged with lightning-ki. "Hide these with hidden weapons so we don't lose direct contact with the foci and they can't be stolen or destroyed." He Nanban-flashed out, leaving Ranma blinking.

"Careful with the dry ice; sort of unstable." Warned another Ranma as he passed over a steaming cold-ki focus. Making sure he didn't have trouble concealing the steaming cold source, this Ranma vanished also.

"This one is nervous energy! Happo-go-en satsu at a night concert!" Shouted a Ranma-chan wearing jeans and a black and white T-shirt with 'Metal' on the front, as she threw a bag of empowered yen coins at him. She didn't vanish, instead laying on the Plains of Pain and falling asleep.

"I disgust myself, but the brat doesn't understand this emotion." Admitted another Ranma as he handed over a slightly damp pair of racy scarlet panties oozing perverted ki. He vanished in shame without a silvery flash, seeming to slowly evaporate.

"Kodachi helps too." Bestowing upon herself a small golden hair ribbon glowing with holy ki, Ranma-chan punched him lightly in the shoulder. "Thank her properly." She muttered before fading out.

"This is a derivative of dark, I think it's safe." Growled a tense Ranma as he gave himself a hunk of obsidian focused with void power. Relieved and rid of his burden, that Ranma left too.

"I'm last, topping off your energy." His female side grabbed his wrist and transferred ki into Ranma. "I'd do more, but you don't have ki-reserves to safely hold my power. Be still, this is planned so the runt will underestimate us." Explained Ranma-chan, erasing the memory of this encounter with a comforting forehead massage.

-

Slightly depressed, knowing he intended this as his last battle with Seruni-chan, Ranma used an idea developed over months of planning 'Wildfire Burning in the Rain.' Ten minutes away from contact with the goddess, Ranma ran.

Faster, and faster, stirring the grass violently, until with a jump and force of will, he flew on a wave of vacuum. Feeling less drained than expected, Ranma imbued the ki-wave below him with a redundant structure and a few surprises.

The pink-clad divine girl waited for him in the air.

Pouring on speed, with the leading vacuum edge as sharp as when he bisected a greater oni, Ranma flew directly at her whirling crystal eyes, reflecting the azure sky.

Precisely at the last moment, the Essence of Sea let him fall through his own ki-construct, and Ranma watched his opponent gleefully miss her body stomp and start riding the vacuum wave like a surf board.

He fell, smiling.

The seeking part of his trap triggered, and the Willow Tree Child laughed when her 'wave' began turning impossibly tight loops attempting to shake her and cleave her in half.

Bringing immense satisfaction, Ranma's delay ki trigger expired, and the wave exploded into a white orb of wind and power in the middle of an extremely tight maneuver.

Cratering the ground with his body, Ranma felt happiness. 'Hit the little bitch at last!' He thought grandly; the feint within a feint within the attack worked.

Climbing out of his crater, Ranma unthinkingly accepted Seruni's helping hand up.

"Do it again! Do it again!" Pleaded the little Goddess cutely as she jumped up and down with his hand gripped tightly. Her hair was slightly disheveled, and a couple sooty smudges decorated her outfit's pink skirt. "What a rush!" Seruni said, her yellow crystal eyes whirling madly in pleasure.

"Sorry kid." Said Ranma as he tried pinpoint ki-blasting her grip away while performing a judo throw.

"Meanie!" Accused the hovering goddess, gripping his hand still.

Spinning his body down hard, creating another Ranma-sized crater overlapping the first, Seruni let go and asked, "What's next then?"

In the middle of being slammed down, Ranma's brain flared in a marvelous idea. 'Why didn't I think of that sooner!' Mourned Ranma as he smacked his forehead, undoing a memory block. 'Doesn't matter!' He exulted.

Jumping out of the hole, he drew upon stored nervous energy and sent hundreds of tiny scattershot ki-blasts to seek and torment his opponent.

"Not powerful enough." Snorted the divine girl, as her aura fountained massively, hurling Ranma back a dozen steps as the attack harmlessly evaporated.

Exhausting passion, light, and darkness, he sent a triply energized corkscrew at the raging aura storm. An inner core of alternating light and darkness was sheltered by perversion. Knowing the attack would fail by itself, Ranma howled "Akane no BAKA!" and threw holy cutting ki vortices until half his foci were exhausted.

A blinding flare of power indicated the Willow Tree Child was busy, and Ranma backed away, hoping for one last opening.

The amazing aura in front of him lowered, and Seruni walked forward with another smudge on her outfit, near her heart. "Redundant elemental seeking blasts produced from ki-focuses." Identified the girl. "Nice work around for your limited power level."

As she spoke, he used the last of his boosted power, those of the elements to create a ki-storm around the goddess. Knowing this attack ineffective by itself, Ranma tried a combination of the Gentle Stilling Breath and Hi Ryu Shoten Ha techniques to draw out the oxygen inside his trap and intensify the magnitude.

When the energy died away, the Seruni was revealed to be peacefully meditating.

"Do you understand yet?" She asked.

Panting with energy exhaustion, Ranma knew he had lost.

Not because his Art was weak, but because hers was strong. Reduced to employing cheap energy boosts just to attack, Ranma understood he'd been fooling himself. Without truly becoming stronger he couldn't win, and while his existence repeated, that couldn't happen.

Exhausted, defeated, and lacking new techniques he was willing to employ, Ranma Saotome became female and collapsed to her knees.

Curious, the Willow Tree Child approached.

"I give up! I give up." Faux-sobbed the red haired girl. Unknown even to herself, a few tears were real.

"So mother, your newest champion fails!" Proclaimed the kami-girl with an upheld fist, in a booming multi-harmonic ki-voice.

Ranma groveled, employing truly for the first time in her life a technique she'd always felt the utmost contempt for: The Crouch of the Wild Tiger.

"Waaah!" Wailed the red head pitifully, theatrically, and though she refused the admission, genuinely.

At first Seruni-Hime looked uncomfortable, then downright sad, as Ranma spilled her story about the Bane of Heirs with snot hanging out of her nose.

"Fine! Fine! I'll help." Said the little girl.

"You will?" Ranma stopped crying and wiped her face in her shirt.

"Yes, because you are walking my path, that of inevitable mastery." Said the Goddess of Ki Inside Life.

Ranma nodded. At first she had trained to become the best, and when she had gotten there, she wanted to become even better. The way required constantly learning, and with constant learning, mastery was inevitable. She couldn't learn much more the way things were.

"We didn't have to fight, we could have played Go." Said the smaller girl wistfully.

"Fighting was the best way."

"So physical violence is better in advancing our Art than peaceful intellectual debate?"

"Yes."

"Calling violence active and pacifism weak or inactive, is an example of a false dichotomy; any five year old knows that, Ranma-san." Seruni chided him gently, gesturing at herself.

"But, but, but. . . . . .." She stuttered, thinking, 'Would I have learned what I did?'

"If you explained at the beginning rather than insulting me and attacking, you would have spared yourself frustration and humiliation. Instead you have paid much for useless power that demands to be used. We could have played with ki too, and playing go would have taught you even more; think about that."

"Whatever power I have, I'll use to help people." Visions of happy fiancées danced in his head, as Ranma changed into a man and looked off into the distant blue sky.

"Helping people for their own good is always a trial. Be careful though, you wouldn't want to learn this lesson a third time."

He wondered at the price of false pride, letting silence stand until Seruni spoke again.

"We shall travel to Mount Uka, where I will make an apology my mother can hear, fulfilling your bargain. Of course, I have a condition."

"What would that be?" Asked the overwhelmed martial artist, prepared to accept anything.

"Piggyback ride on the way up! Wai!" The young goddess had her priorities.

---

Hours later they arrived at Castle Uka. Jumping off Ranma's back, Seruni-Hime landed next to Uka's gates and shattered them with a delicate flick of her wrist.

"Hey you vindictive bitch!" Called the young Goddess to her mother. "I humbly apologize to Ranma for kicking his ass with such joy and delight, I am genuinely contrite I had to kill him so often before he realized how superior I am in absolute power."

No response was forthcoming.

"If you don't have Dad materialize the antidote, I'll do to you what you've threatened me with far too often in the past." Boomed the small Goddess in an impossibly loud voice. Her eyes swirled an angry shade of crimson.

No response.

Settling into a stance Ranma recognized, the Willow Tree Child thrust out her hands and gathered power.

"Ka."

Swirling pinkish red energy began surrounding her in a corona.

"Mi."

It began to diffuse into a sickly pulsating ball in her hands.

"Hi."

The ball condensed and expanded.

"Me."

Into an angry red wave twenty feet in diameter.

"Ha!" Finished Seruni as she released the attack, far larger than Ranma had witnessed before.

But the Fist of the God Princess didn't go more than a few meters until it hovered motionless in the air.

Calmly walking in front of her own massive display of power, the Goddess with the outward aspect of a five year old reached down and picked up an oddly shaped glowing vial.

"We can go now." She giggled in a normal voice. "Don't ask, it's not your business."

Closing his opened mouth before disaster struck. Ranma pointed to the hovering tidal wave of malevolent red ki.

Gesturing upwards with her free hand the Goddess smirked. Her energy immediately shot vertical, seeming to shatter and reduce itself on metaphysical defenses against aerial attack. Finally, thousands of feet up, another small hole was blasted in the castle walls.

"See ya tomorrow at the gate, when this ends." Said Seruni, surveying her handiwork. Realizing his day was indeed up, Ranma faded out with an expression of surprise.

----

After discharging the obligations of Nanban Overlap, Ranma flew to Shikoku and performed the necessary ritual to open the gate. Rather than finding the usual signpost, he found a door hovering in the air with the kanji 'Open me Saotome' engraved with fine calligraphy.

Obeying, Ranma looked through the doorway onto a solitary cloud hovering in an endless expanse of blue. The old weather-beaten man he recognized as Izanagi stood with an aura of leadership, and motioned Ranma to join him.

Stepping on solid air, Ranma walked through six layers of sky, joining the old God.

"So you have proven yourself; my prophecy is invalidated!" Laughing unrestrainedly, Izanagi, God of the Sky, observed the petitioning martial artist much like a pet owner enraptured their charge could now roll over.

"Whatever; just uncurse me." 'You overgrown windbag.' He only thought the latter; having learned not pissing off deities was a survival skill.

"No, no, this is the part where I explain how clever I am, and you rethink your entire worldview! For now you are but a mere mortal, while I am a primal manifestation of the Sky, free to ride the winds of infinite futures and wisdom. The Bane of Heirs was meant to force a descendant in your line to fail, and it did." The old kami smiled beatifically.

"When was the last time you did something like this?" Inquired Ranma, bored but wise enough not to wish another labor upon himself. His mission had succeeded.

"Around three hundred twenty years ago, your many times great grand father begged the kami to curse his daughter for betraying family honor. As with all prayer, the consequences for both branches were duly evaluated."

Sighing like a prairie windstorm, Izanagi paused. "I'll repeat the same thing I told that stupid over-sexed ancestress of yours when I cursed her: The Bane of Heirs is ultimately a test, meant to teach a thick-headed descendant who comes into too much power too fast. By selecting the worst possible mate that would still make you happy, it will insure the person finally granted Power won't be smart enough to use it very well."

"So what did great-great-great-great-grandma think about this?" No ancestor of his would have taken such an insult gracefully!

"Pulling the hidden ties inside her kimono, she exposed herself, gestured between her legs and asked if I wanted to have a good time. You see, Ranma Saotome, your ancestress had brought disgrace upon her family by sleeping with anything willing, including her two brothers and the family donkey. Her father couldn't afford a big enough dowry to be rid of her. Our curse of testing might have taken many forms, but we deemed the Bane of Heirs most appropriate."

"Shocked?" Asked the Sky-God with amusement.

Ranma stared blankly ahead.

"No matter. The excess power the curse was designed to diffuse involves the Shard of Passage, an ancient artifact which allows travel between worlds, times, and possibilities. It helped create what you've come to know as the Nanban Mirror.

"The Nanban Mirror, while not present in all existences you affect, is a minor artifact. It can be broken and nullified, or even shattered and maintain a bit of power. It is merely an echo of the Shard of Passage.

"Somelives you are the designated guardian of the Nanban Mirror after wresting it from Happosai, in others you use it or a variation of it to tinker with the chaos surrounding you. However, this world, our world, is virtually unique in possibilities. So unique it could never happen again because it already has. In this world, Happosai rendered the Mirror back into sand from the Shard, a form of the artifact nearly as powerful as the original. You internalized this dust, gaining too much power.

"Your subconsciousness obeyed Happosai's hidden command to live a perfect day and constructed this time repetition, during which you have earned spiritual and worldly knowledge. Exploring the depths of this power, you began to scratch the surface by visiting a possibility, a slightly perverted World of Imagination where you learned to properly attune for dimensional travel. Doubtless you realized the Shard of Passage had become selective to lechery from its previous holder and would default to such situations when possible."

"Actually I hadn't figured that out, but it makes sense." Admitted Ranma, surprised.

"Fix your attunement soon then." Scolded Izanagi. "This is where the Bane of Heirs comes into play. By forcing your attention upon our curse, you gradually developed your control over the Shard's power in a relatively safe environment: the Kami Planes. Your encounter with Seruni shows that."

"I'd hardly call nearly getting eradicated from existence 'relatively safe!' " Said Ranma, shuddering at his encounters with the Formless Duke and the Shimmer Void.

"Ah, but it is far safer than opening a random pathway into the heart of a sun, or a world of the Damned. It is safer than inadvertently inviting an empowered destroyer by attracting its attention; safer than viewing what Might Be and drawing a hero back into life by circumventing fate. Walking paths in ignorance, heedless of consequence, would ruin your Earth, not just you. Could you atone for that?"

Ranma flinched.

"The Bane of Heirs caused you to fail in exploring your powers, and by that failure our world is safe. Now it is time to give what you seek." Gently, Izanagi touched Ranma's forehead, and he felt winds blowing. Faster and more rapacious than any Hi Ryu Shoten Ha, but as gently as a wet cloth placed lovingly upon his brow.

"I don't feel any different," ventured Ranma hesitantly.

Izanagi, who now resembled a tired old grandfather, leaned heavily on his staff. "I have sealed your dimensional shifting powers, and permanently removed any chance you could even develop prophecy, prescience, or higher magnitude time walking. You may no longer destroy our universe by experimentation, though what remains is still vastly unexplored."

Nodding, Ranma agreed. "I am tempted to abuse what powers I have, but high-handed revenge has no useful purpose. What good is ruining other's lives to reclaim my own?"

The Sky God smiled. "I bid you meditate on these revelations. Time will stand still while you breathe in this new air. Please, open the door when you finish." Izanagi vanished, taking the infinite sky with him.

Ranma found himself inside a building. A well-used dojo, with exotic weapons adorning the walls and padded practice mats interrupting the polished but scuffed hard wood floor, made the martial artist inside him comfortable. 'This is a good place.' He thought, relaxing and beginning contemplation.

---

"Hey Ranma, I've come to test you!" Seruni, wearing a pink sundress, gleefully bounced onto her victim's crossed legs, and started swaying back and forth like she was on a swing set.

Irritated, Ranma soon flipped upright, abandoning the upside down meditation posture that was his favorite.

"What is it, runt?" He asked warily, assuming a highly defensive stance.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to kick your ass again!" Quipped the small goddess playfully. "Now turn into a girl, lay down and relax, 'cause we are having a heart to heart."

Sensing reluctance, the girl added, "Don't make me turn this place into a slumber party setting with cutesy dolls and frisky unicorns; I like it now."

"Stupid tomboy." Muttered Ranma, as she laid on a practice mat.

"Oooh, thanks big sister!" Said Seruni, as she blurred, finally settling down with her head pillowed between Ranma's breasts and her dark hair over the older girl's face. "This is comfy."

"Now what?" Questioned the goddess's living sofa.

"We talk about what girls talk about during slumber parties."

"And what would that be?" A slight dollop of dread accompanied the question.

"Your love life, of course!"

Ranma groaned.

"Come on big sister! Details, details."

"Must I?" Stalled the older girl.

"It's either that or play 'Truth or Dare,' which would end the same, but be harder on you." Seruni sounded reflective. "Maybe we should do it that way? It would be more fun for me."

"I concede. What do you want to know?" Ranma sighed.

"First, how many girls we talking?"

"Akane, Ucchan, Kodachi, and Shampoo." Replied Ranma tiredly, having thought about this far too much.

"Now, now, don't try to oversimplify," chided the goddess. "You've really considered more, haven't you?"

Thinking over days that blurred into years, Ranma realized the small child resting on her chest was correct. Now that she knew them, Ranma wouldn't mind marrying either Kasumi or Nabiki under the right circumstances, and said so.

"Well now, what attracts you to each lady -- what makes their souls shine." Summoning a glinting mote of power, Seruni gently touched Ranma's heart chakra. "Here, this should help."

A wash of memories flooded Ranma's mind, and she saw the moments, the Right Moments, which defined how her feelings about the women in her life.

Kasumi calmly pulled out a plate of bamboo and offered it to her father, a day after the cursed pair had arrived. Kasumi smiling obliviously, unbothered by the destruction around her that was Ranma's life. Her face always radiated a sense of peace and trust.

Nabiki facing down Izanami's wrath, for once on his side totally. Nabiki admitting to arranging the wedding disaster, because her sister wasn't ready. Nabiki conning him out or Kuno out of money, simply because they would lose it anyway, and why not to her? The same girl using him for her own ends, occasionally misreading him, but leaving a fair way out. Usually.

"Kasumi accepts what she cannot change, and Nabiki tries to change what she cannot accept."

"What about who you thought you loved once, and might still? What about Akane Tendo?" Prodded Seruni.

The images came faster. A girl asking an unsure stranger 'want to be friends?' The passing of Saffron. The Martial Arts Cheerleading Competition. The Golden Pair. The trips to Dr. Tofu. The kidnapping princes. Ryuugenzawa. And more, so much more.

"Akane and I, we are always saving one another when it matters, but we can't save each other from ourselves." With this admission came a feeling of rightness, as if he'd pinned down a part of their relationship he'd never understood.

"Violence. Adversity. Trickery." Suggested the Goddess next.

Thoughts of such trouble came with the image of the girl dedicating to killing him, and then marrying him. Near death experiences flashed in his mind's eye, of the running battle that was the last few weeks of China. Then came the strange shift into unrestrained affection; Shampoo really was wild! The reversal jewel. Her job at the Nekohaten earning the phoenix pill. That stupid bicycle. Finally, Ranma blushed as she relived intimate times with Shampoo, during endless days of no consequences.

"Xian Pu is the most passionate girl I've met." Said the tripping martial artist in flawless Chinese.

And the thought of unrestrained passion conjured up memories of darkness and piercing laughter. Kodachi wasn't liked by pre-timelooped Ranma. Too many images of poisons, sneak attacks, and underhandedness; lying paralyzed on a roof. Then he had found while Kodachi Kuno the rhythmic gymnast was a superficial crazy bitch; Kodachi Kuno, the Devil Hunter serving the Nine Spokes was a dependable ally and friend.

"Kodachi understands my sense of duty, the meaning behind my Art."

Friendship led to the last girl, Ucchan, who he couldn't think of differently. He saw moments of concern, good times, and laughter. He also remembered Ukyo's indecisions between okonomiyaki and femininity.

"Ucchan is my best friend; I haven't met anyone truer than her."

Satisfied, the Goddess stopped her trickle of power. "Sounds like you have some thinking to do Saotome." She commented lazily. "My final exercise is for you to make the choice. Pick a girl and marry her; if you're ambitious pick more than one! We give you permission."

A bit floored at being granted divine providence to take multiple wives, Ranma seized on the lull in conversation. "And what about you, runt? How's your love life?"

"I'm too young. Right now I'm doing the things I need to do, so later I can do the people I want to do. Maybe in another hundred years."

Deliberately digging her elbows into the most sensitive nerve clusters of Ranma's breasts in a not- comfortable way, the young goddess stood on Ranma's stomach and bounced off.

"No cheating on my task, I know you know how to break out of the rut you're in." The Goddess disappeared from his presence.

Ranma returned male and continued contemplation. When he grew tired of thinking, he opened the large double doors at the front of the dojo.

-

He stood in the middle of a vast amphitheater, but instead of tiered seating, there were hovering pillars with gateways open to the sky. Hundreds of vistas, most with a being of obvious power behind them, were displayed from each of the portals. Some watched intently, while others performed routine tasks around their domains like presiding over ceremonies, snuggling a spouse, eating dinner, or processing rules.

This was the kami-plane equivalent of prime-time television, and the show had now gotten to the happy ending part. Old man Izanagi had assumed the position of omniscient narrator, and settled nicely into the role of chastising the hero.

With a puff of wind, he whistled piercingly, and as if on cue, a door opened and the game show entertainment stepped out. "Ranma Saotome: come on down!" screamed a voice in his mind.

"Congratulations! Your wish has been fulfilled!" Espoused the canny sky god in a voice remarkably like Rod Roddy on 'The Price is Right!' "

A swirl of wind and life surrounded Ranma like a spotlight, and he felt slightly refreshed. The others in the actual amphitheater – Seruni, Izanami, and a gathering of small kappa, applauded politely.

Looking a bit spooked, since wishes in the past had led to nothing but trouble, Ranma cautiously approached the Sky God, who spoke solemnly to him while breaking a strange decanter of glimmering liquid over his head. The impromptu bath made his nerves tingle, and when it ended, he felt a sense of loss; of a burden torn violently away.

"Very well, the Bane of Heirs is exorcised. Ranma Saotome, do not return to the Kami planes until after the death of your first wife. We have come to regard you as an eligible quasi-immortal bachelor, but we are wise enough to let you live your life first."

Looking at the Kami he'd come to consider friends, Ranma was shocked at such harshness. Pulling him aside, Seruni smiled at him, and conjured a topographic replica of Japan using her spiritual powers. Millions of points of light flashed gently while moving on the map. Some moved slowly, but others blurred in a streamer of light, like passengers on a bullet train.

"Ranma, each of these souls is a mortal woman you might marry, and Japan is but a small portion of Earth-Realm. Potentially you have the choice of a billion women for your first bride, however we know you have seriously considered less than ten."

"Here's some advice from an old god," said Izanagi, "helping people for their own good hurts less if you remain mysterious." The Master of the Sky floated back, having said his peace.

Kissing him gently on the cheek, Seruni-Hime whispered to him: "If you return, I'll grow up for you, for you'll have traveled far down my path. Remember always the price of pride."

Seruni rejoined the Sky God, and linking powers with impressive pyrotechnics, they banished him from their realms.

Ranma whispered, "Goodbye to you too, brat."

---

Next: "Worlds upon Worlds over Possible"

---

--Rest in peace, Rod Roddy, "The Price is Right" was my favorite game show as a kid

--My reviews have pointed out this arc makes readers less emotionally involved because the emphasis on the fights was on curbing Ranma's pride and not on an opponent like Happosai. If you have suggestions on making this section more emotionally moving, please leave them in a review.


	15. moments14

"Worlds over Worlds over Possible"

----

"It is done." Said Ranma, raising a triumphant fist. Before her father could begin, she reverted male as a lure.

Weaving around Genma's charge, Ranma's form projected joy.

"What's done boy?" Asked Genma obliviously as Ranma dodged his sneaky uppercut. That his son might have cured the curse never occurred to him, ruining a prank.

"The Bane of Heirs," shared Ranma while connecting with a punch, knocking Genma back.

"Forgot about that," mused his father. "Wait boy, I'll be back."

Mystified, Ranma watched Genma jump into their room and grab his traveling pack. Rummaging by the dojo entrance, Genma removed his beat up metal drinking cup and scooped out some pond water. Then, reaching deep inside his pack, he reverently removed and unsealed a small envelope, spilling a few powdered grains in the cup.

Fifteen seconds later, the water sparkled exactly like the potion Seruni retrieved from Castle Uka.

Shocked, Ranma didn't move when his father dumped the mixture on him, much like happened in the gathering of kami. It tingled the same way, without a sense of loss.

As Genma was set to finish sparring, Kasumi announced breakfast.

Ranma stood thinking for two whole hours, mentally numb. 'Guess this joke really is on me,' he thought.

--

When he came to, he discovered Azusa Shiatori finishing a little pink heart on his cheek in permanent marker.

His scream of boundless frustration scared her badly, and startled Tsubasa Kurenai, who had been painting his toenails a matching purple shade.

Easily catching the fashion-impaired rats, Ranma lifted their shiatsu paralyzed bodies effortlessly and stared into their terrified faces.

"Alright you!" He growled, "Spill what happened last month with Ukyo."

The story didn't leave him much surprised.

-----

They met at an Osaka love hotel, far from Nerima and the familiar.

"Why are we doing this again?" The boy and the girl spoke at the same time, and turned away embarrassed.

They already knew the answer -- because an ending was coming, and the girl wouldn't consent to doing this with anyone other than the boy. Her morals wouldn't justify it, and even now curiosity warred with disgust.

Locking the door, the boy and girl hesitantly removed their clothing, feeling tense and weird. Proceeding as planned, they had trouble starting, but took hours to finish.

---

Ranma-chan turned and looked at her male aspect. "I still like girls better," she assured herself. "We've done everything we were curious about, now it is time for the future."

-----

The future awaited only a few blocks from the Tendo compound.

"I know why you are here, follow me."

Miyo wore jeans and a white t-shirt with the words 'If you're thinking what I'm thinking, why wait?' printed in kanji. Ranma's glance showed his hostess unchanged from their last meeting; small breasts nice legs, and no muscles. Ranma obeyed the psychic girl's instruction, removing his footwear before entering. The next hours held his lifetime's definition, and who would share it.

With an eerie stare, the girl stopped after two steps, speaking in a voice of bafflement and authority: "My parents won't return for hours, and I don't understand how you will visit seven hundred and two more times before tomorrow."

Miyo led him through her small residence, straight to the bathroom. He noticed a few family pictures and a comfortable looking blue armchair, but nothing in the house yelled 'strangeness!' at a polite visitor. Pausing to examine a photo in which Miyo rolled her eyes at the camera while wearing a creamy yellow sundress, Ranma hesitated.

"What did you expect?" Said his hostess patiently, not turning around. "Foretelling the future is a hobby, like collecting coins or rollerblading. Anybody can do it."

Ranma opened his mouth, but Miyo slid open the door to her family's bathroom, cutting off his question. Both silently donned the 'toilet slippers' used for entering washrooms in a private dwelling.

Stepping inside, Ranma wondered what was going on. At his skeptical glance, Miyo said blandly, "Payment first, then you can possibility surf."

Ranma noted the bathroom was somewhat cramped. The toilet was the hunched over, more hygienic Japanese-style toilet, very unlike the newer western ones in the Tendo home.

Miyo, blushing severely, passed over a note and pointed at black bandanna on the bathroom sink. "Please read this, and I'll get ready." She failed at masking her nervous embarrassment with indifference.

Unfolding the note, and ignoring the rustling sounds in the background, Ranma read: 'This is the deal: I already know you'll do it. No talking. This is very hard for a virgin like me, but I have foreseen, and I Want This. You are going to spend the next twenty-three minutes and fifty seconds giving me an orgasm larger than the Kanto earthquake. A blindfold is provided if you wish. If it goes to twenty-four minutes, I'll die from a brain embolism, so careful with time. Immobilize my legs with shiatsu. Hit three pain clusters in my upper arms before you start. Upon finish, carry me to my bedroom, third door on the left. Crystal ball on the table; will use command word after. Don't forget to flush and turn on the fan.'

Looking up from the note, Ranma saw Miyo had taken off her jeans and underwear, and positioned herself with legs spread over the Japanese-style toilet. Her head, almost at the opposite wall, was pillowed on her folded clothing. Her t-shirt remained on, and her eyes stared at the ceiling. With a cherry red face, she lay with hands demurely covering herself.

Feeling used, Ranma followed the directions.

---

Looking at Miyo's face as he carried the exhausted girl to her room, Ranma noticed she was no longer blushing. Tear streaks lined her face, her nose ran slightly, and her lip bled, from where she had bitten it especially hard.

Tucking the girl in, Ranma watched her grab and gulp down a glass of sportsdrink sitting on her nightstand.

Holding her hand over mouth, she whispered something, and suddenly the crystal ball sitting on the table by Miyo's futon lit up. Hoarsely, she said, "The note by the ball is the operating instructions, I'm sleeping. You have five hours. Use the Way of the Silent Thief if my parents show. Thank you, that was the best I'll ever have."

Energy spent, Miyo curled up in her blankets and slept.

The note by the crystal ball stated 'Think of what you will do, and touch me.'

Ranma focused on a future where he never married anyone. Gently, he touched the ball.

--OOO--

Standing upside down on the asteroid, Ranma Saotome extended his protective energy field. Stars glittered in the background, silent spectators. Feeling no other presences, Ranma the Elder looked into the hungry void, and found it wanting again.

Unfocusing his eyes, he stared through the veil separating time and possibility. Observing his younger self, Ranma the God communicated: "POWER IS USELESS WHEN UNSHARED. MY BIGGEST REGRET IS NEVER TAKING A WIFE."

With a slashing hand motion, the elder being dissolved the vision.

--0--

Shaken, and more than a little frightened at what he had sensed, Ranma scooted his chair back from the crystal ball, and glared at it like Akane served it to him as 'food.'

Innocently, it lay on a small violet cashmere cushion, sitting on a tiny table, doing nothing.

Counting out sixty heartbeats, Ranma flared his aura, wondering about a life with his macho tomboy.

--OOO--

A kaleidoscope of 'What If' began tumbling though his mind, the ball a blur of mist. He narrowed the search, eliminating branches where Akane never learned to cook, control her temper, or was embattled with another fiancée after marriage. He knew solutions for those dilemmas.

Faced with repeating patterns, Ranma noticed his future life was largely based around three major decisions: the fate of the Tendo dojo, whether future-Akane followed her dreams of college and a career (acting usually), and how much time future-Ranma devoted to Musubetsu Kakuto Ryuu.

--0--

Blinking away the cobwebs of what-might-have-been, Ranma stared at Miyo's ceiling for a time, to re-orient himself in Now. He wondered what would have happened if Happosai hadn't infected his blood with traces of a potent magical relic. He found himself viewing parallel worlds.

--OOO--

Regardless of events, which varied depending on the how he concentrated on the possibility lines, Ranma watched in detached horror as his life flew out of control. The behavior of his women soon degraded into treating Ranma as a trophy, with an understudy of quiet desperation that Akane was winning.

Drastic action by Ukyo ended the stalemate in nearly all timelines. She either gave up (quietly or to run off with Konatsu), seduced another fiancée (usually Akane), or in a few extreme cases where her father upped the pressure, committed suicide. His best friend's despair signaled Ranma coming marriage as she eliminated herself, and usually another fiancée, simplifying a complex tangle. In these worlds, Ranma lacked happiness, having married too early without working problems out with his future wife.

Refusing to accept what he had seen coming, Ranma returned his attention to a smaller but inconceivably vast possibility. In this node, Ranma Saotome acted first.

He left to cure his curse, and when he returned years later, in failure or success (very unlikely) everyone else had moved on. If an enterprising fiancée managed to journey with him, Ranma always married her (or them). Amazingly, he tended toward Nabiki here, as she wanted unpredictability and adventure after hitting the Japanese glass ceiling and resigning herself to being an office lady.

---

Nearly unbalancing his chair laughing at mercenary Tendo's future fate, Ranma realized no matter how funny it might be, it was also sad. Returning to the crystal ball, he decided this was fun, like an enrapturing story.

---

He abandoned his family name, and a few times the Amazons were fast enough to drag an honorless wanderer off to China for stud purposes. Usually Ranma fought them off, though Cologne had some pretty sneaky tricks alternate-Ranmas didn't know like that dust thing or the ki-imprisonment. With no son in Saotome family register, Ukyo's family honor was repaired and she returned home, finding her family arranged another engagement after hearing the joyous news.

Even as ronin, if he didn't escape to another prefecture or country, Kodachi was still interested. Depending on how soon he slept with her, he ended up tossed on the street with a few thousand yen, married to Kodachi, or married to her arch-rival Asuka, the White Lily. Tatewaki had also made a try for the pigtailed girl during this time, but Ranma chose not to explore this. Gross.

He ran off with a girl, not always a fiancée; they led a tense life full of close calls and family honor blood feuds, which always ended in tragedy for future generations. The adrenaline filled, possible-death-tomorrow sex was great though. Woot!

She pretended to be a girl, having been clobbered by Akane for something not her fault. Often a bizarre twist of fate made her -really- lose her memories, and Ranko's futures fractured across the globe. The times she regained her memories after marrying a guy were not pleasant. The other branch, where the pretense was only that, Ranko became amazed at how differently everyone treated her. In some worlds she found fulfillment as a teacher in the Amazon tribe, in others with a desperate fiancée who turned to sapphism. Oddly, 'Ranko' tended to get more respect than 'Ranma', no matter how her life-path went.

--0--

Breaking off contact with the crystal ball, Ranma glared at it. How could life be so much better as a woman?

"It's because we are so much more sensitive and feeling than men." Commented Miyo as she scratched an itch on her right nipple. Noting his irritated expression, she added, "You said that aloud, you know."

A brace of ribald insults flashed into Ranma's mind; most of them from observing alternate-Nabikis. Instead, he softly told the precognitive girl, "Go back to sleep."

Maneuvering herself so her very sore inner regions were comfortable and consequently visible, the fortune teller did, with minimal complaints. Ranma turned back to the crystal ball; while this was only a hundred days in, he overflowed with questions.

Exactly how could he end up alone anyway? His 'loves' were relentless; nothing but murder could make them give up.

--OOO--

A scenario he hadn't considered tumbled into his mind's eye. Ranma saw himself standing at one end of the Tendo Dojo and making an announcement to his stunned betrotheds:

"I promise to marry any two of you who sleep with each other!"

After being sent flying away courtesy of female outrage, an oddly chaotic chain of events followed, revealed in discrete scenes by his other-wordly window.

Kodachi attacked the Tendo sisters during Ranma's birthday party (so everyone was there) using a bizarre pheromone concoction. Her intent was eliminating any rivalry from the primary engagement. One vial became shattered by a swing of her brother's bokken, leading to the eventually happy marriage of Kuno and Nabiki.

Ranma looked beyond the veil of years and saw a very pregnant Nabiki, getting three million yen from her husband Kuno for granting permission to use call girls. Being in love meant she accepted his inability to totally commit to any one woman. Blinking away a murky picture of twenty-three grown children mourning over their parent's joint gravestone (which read Nabs and K-baby forever), Ranma returned his perceptions to the earlier scene.

Konatsu deflected Kodachi's second vial, aimed at Ukyo, into the non-combatant's betting section, where Daisuke and Hiroshi grabbed and fought for it until they spilled it over themselves and Kasumi.

Averting his extended perceptions, Ranma merely noted it took two normal men to sate the eldest Tendo daughter's repressed sexuality, and that the three shared a very close common law poly-amorous relationship.

Finally Akane tackled the gymnast and managed to spill the rest of her concoction. While they would heatedly debate who was 'Top Girl' Akane and Kodachi lived happy and fulfilling lives as demon slayers, especially after leaning some special techniques from the Mido clan.

This left Ukyo and Shampoo, who managed to successfully douse each other's birthday cake with magical love potions (Amazonian Woo Hoo Juice and Koi Cupid Caviar respectively), and ended up in a tempestuously and ultimately tragic union. (Ukyo's crazy father, who still thought she was really a boy and reconciled with her post-marriage, couldn't stand cats, except as a lunch entrée.)

Seeing himself preside as Master of Ceremonies over a tri-Tendo wedding with an official Shinto preaching license from Fushiminaari, Ranma mentally staggered. His concentration broke.

--0--

Laughing softly while holding the back of his neck, Ranma Saotome whispered in the slightly pungent air of Miyo's bedroom, "That couldn't possibly happen." The insecure desperation in his voice went uncommented upon.

Reflecting he had kept his word about 'marrying fiancées,' Ranma returned his attention to the depths of the crystal ball.

--

Curious, Ranma asked a more generalized question: What would have happened if he had used the Shimmer Void in his battle with the Goddess?

--OOO--

After the Crouch of the Wild Tiger succeeded, Ranma pressed his advantage by entrapping the Seruni in a spiritual containment field.

While weak, he could tell this moved surprised her.

Flashing in, more Saotomes transferred life and power into the primary Ranma holding the Goddess contained. Gradually her prison turned into a cube, and aura thorns of malignant darkness sprouted inside.

Shortly, the atmosphere changed, as the anti-thesis of life arrived: Annihilation.

As each overlapping incarnation of Ranma Saotome passed ki-power for the Shimmer Void, they stepped to the side. Exhausted beyond human tolerances, the zombies might have a role.

When finished, one hundred days stood represented in a circle around the hovering, entrapped Goddess, barely able to stand. Shocked from his observation of this possibility, Ranma noted their ki had been totally replaced by seeds of darkness.

Proving herself powerful beyond mortal limitations, Seruni broke free, in a tremendous shockwave of fate and holy might.

As one, the circle of undead malevolently reached into their weaponspaces, each producing a copy of the experimental solenoid laser gun. As one, they fired, aiming directly at the whirling crystals that were her eyes.

"Abonimations!" Screamed the blinded godling, who didn't need eyes to perceive.

As her aura refracted the beams away, Seruni melded the life flows around her, drawing the fighting spirit shed over the ages upon the Plains of Pain.

The Goddess of Ki inside Life commanded it to her.

A blade of vacuum and annihilation made of Shimmer Void cut off one of her ears and most of her hair as she dodged sluggishly, reeling from insanity and handling immense power.

Seruni-kami called ki outwards. One hundred days collapsed, as death met life.

Glowing with light of virtue, she reached through the aura of sharp void-spikes surrounding the main abomination, and employed her powers through the blood dripping from her now mutilated hand.

Ranma Saotome melted away, leaving only a handful of sand.

Gasping, Seruni-Kami restored her flesh, but her eyes no longer whirled. They had been corrupted and cracked by the power of the Shimmer Void.

Scattering the ashes of the Nanban Mirror across nine universes, the Goddess wept silent tears for what might have been.

In this possibility, Ranma Saotome was truly dead.

'I knew sealing that evil thing was correct.' Thought Ranma, vindicated as he watched himself lose to the Goddess over and over again. He wondered was there even a way to beat the brat? How long did it take?

--

"Inventive, but ultimately not powerful enough." Said the Goddess in disdain, having endured the nine chained attacks that had taken twenty years to create.

-

"What a workout!" Complemented the small girl, as she permanently deactivated the Mol-diver Unit it had taken fifty years and millions of dimensions to find.

-

"A hundred more years and you might have me!" Laughed Seruni-Kami, shattering the Sword of Kamui.

-

". . . . . .So you were training in another Universe when this Majin Buu kicked everyone's asses, and now you want me to do that dorky looking fusion technique with you?" Five-year old Ranma-chan nodded, having swallowed an age reducing mushroom twenty minutes ago. "Bwa ahahaha! OK, just admit defeat at my hands and I'll help." Offered the Willow Tree Child generously.

--0--

Appalled at his own stubborn futility, Ranma had inadvertently discovered a way to master new techniques. Already, he'd learned dozens of medium to advanced level ki attacks, and an efficient chaining method from his alternate selves. His Art had always come before his loves before; why should this be different?

---- Days Fade Into Each Other ----

Sighing, Ranma admitted defeat. Four hours of possibility sifting showed no technique or refinement he cared to learn. Time to finish his task and look for happy endings.

---OOO---

"How could I choose Ukyo as my wife above all others? That is what you want to understand before finally giving up on me, right?"

The un-ki-shackled part of the crowd nodded.

"Firstly, I am the best martial artist on this planet. I plan on constantly improving, and the rest of you who would be my 'beloved' would hold me back."

She let the crowd yell denials for ten minutes, until they offered nothing new. With a negligent thunderclap of ki, Ranma silenced them.

"It's like this, OK? Ucchan won't give up on me, no matter what happens. . . . she's obsessed with me, chased me for ten years over a betrayal until one silly comment reminded her how much she loved me. None of you have that kind of psychotic mentality. . . . . Akane doesn't understand how to correctly approach problems, and thus would make my life miserable with unrealistic demands. Shampoo is defined by her culture, and this would forever restrict avenues of my growth. Kodachi has her own responsibilities, and cannot abandon them without becoming a person I would hate. The rest of you aren't martial artists, or have agendas involving the violation of my free will."

"So you're throwing over Akane for a girl you admit is a psychotic manipulative bitch?" Nabiki's acerbic question broke the sudden silence after Ranma's speech.

"My friend recognizes a kindred spirit! To answer brings my second point. . . . Ukyo is obsessed with me, and she freely admits it. She accepts herself. There is no depth she wouldn't sink into or peak she would not surmount in order to achieve her stated goal: me. However, she also understands good and evil like any human being. . . . observe."

Ranma turned to his chosen fiancée and removed her ki-enforced earplugs. Then he untied her gag, using it to gently brush away a tear.

Conversationally turning back to the crowd, Ranma informed: "Ukyo here has no idea what I'm about to ask, but please know she has had no coaching. In fact, she didn't know I would choose her; I told her I bound her to stop her from committing suicide at my choice."

Ranma's chosen wife looked utterly shocked: "You Jusenkyo-damned jackass! I'm gonna hurt you real, real bad before we get married!"

Listening the string of expletives insulting his ancestry, intelligence, and ego, Ranma sighed and interrupted his chosen.

"Ucchan, if it meant you would marry me, and be with me the rest of your life, would you accept a Jusenkyo curse?"

"Yes." An obvious expression of distaste, but no hesitation. She continued the tirade, until she noticed Nodoka's disapproving glare, and then it died off.

"Would you shave all body hair, renounce your family name, and join a reclusive order of monks with me, on the off chance they might have once martial arts technique I might not know?"

"Ah, the Order of Brambles and Knives over in Kyuushu! Too bad we couldn't enlist, but only so many places to visit in ten years!" Genma's hearty approval surprised no one, and Ranma wondered what his old man hadn't done for a change.

"Yes; but dammit Ran-chan, that isn't a honeymoon!" Ukyo trembled with a dozen emotions, and her voice wasn't steady.

"Would you kill for me?"

Akane and Shampoo flinched, remembering Saffron, as Ukyo slowly nodded her head, then added: "I'd only do it to save your life."

"Would you care if I took my mistress with me?" Ranma pointed looked at Kasumi, who blushed in surprise.

"Not if it meant spending my life with you."

"Would you forgive me if I slept with another woman before we married, because of a promise I made?" Ukyo followed his gaze to Kodachi's face.

"Yes, but I wouldn't like it. You know there is nothing I wouldn't do to marry you; stop torturing me like this!" The chef's voice broke, raising the sound of her last word two octaves.

Ranma looked troubled, and turned his attention back to his Ucchan.

"One last question, and then you can rest: If we found you alone couldn't sexually satisfy me after marriage, would you actively help in finding me other women, and love me none the less for it?"

Crying openly, Ukyo nodded her head, then defiantly said "As long you'll do the same for me with men!" while looking at Konatsu.

Nodoka beamed at her manly son, why even she wouldn't have done -that- for Genma!

--

"Did you pack your morning necessities Kasumi?"

"Yes, with plenty of extra batteries. Ranma-sensei."

"My restaurant, my beautiful restaurant!" It didn't really sound like Ukyo's heart remained in the hysterics.

"Ucchan, stop being a manipulative bitch." Ranma rubbed her love's behind to make her feel better.

Learning up into the pressure, Ukyo smiled and nodded.

"And stop making Konatsu carry everything!" Slapping her ass, Ranma sent Ukyo stumbling in her retainer's direction, where she grumblingly shared the load.

Noticing everything at the ready, he drew upon the magical Nanban dust that had become a part of his bloodstream, and opened a silvery portal.

"See you again everyone!"

The portal flared, and at last, the moment ended.

"Stop being needless climactic jackass!" Said his love. "We'll be back in a week."

---0---

Well he was definitely happy in that one, but not everyone was. Akane died young after becoming an inadvertent murderess in college, and Shampoo was disowned by the Amazons and ended up settling for Mousse, who joined her exile doing magic shows in Las Vegas.

He searched for the best future with Akane's wild success.

---OOO---

After knocking the panda silly, he waited until everyone had gathered for breakfast, before boldly slapping the table and focusing attention towards himself.

"I have an announcement!"

Genma continued eating, and Soun ruffled the morning paper, while all other eyes watched him.

"I've decided to throw over Akane and switch the engagement to Nabiki because she's so great in bed!"

"You bitch!" Screamed Akane, as she saw scarlet and tried to kick her sister's ass after employing a huge mallet on Ranma.

Kasumi fainted, while Nodoka inquired when the children would be coming. Meanwhile, Akane stiffened and fell comatose on the floor from an invisible ki-strike to her sleep point. The 'off switch' would last a few minutes.

Soun snapped out of his daze and gave his blessing.

-

As expected, Nabiki confronted him after breakfast. Whatever cutting remark she planned on using died on her lips as Ranma yelled, "You want sex again! You're insatiable!"

Berserk Akane appeared on schedule. Eventually, Akane would give up and become an extremely successful actress with a tragic past, like she'd always wanted.

--

"Look Nabiki," Ranma explained, "it's clear to me that you have feelings for me, otherwise you wouldn't have broken up my wedding a few days ago. The only thing I don't have is money, and I'll have that by end of the day if you mobilize your network and follow my orders."

"If I don't?" Retorted the mercenary angrily, as she felt the striking fear of total helplessness and loss of control.

"I won't protect you." Replied Ranma simply.

Tearing up, the middle Tendo summoned what always worked before and waited for Ranma to crack like he always did. Damage control might be difficult, but not impossible.

Ranma-chan hugged her back and cried with her, rubbing her bottom with a low wandering hand. Nabiki found herself enjoying the touches. "This is for our own good biki-tiki-tavi, just go with the flow." Whispered the fakely comforting girl, though some of Nabiki's tears were real.

"How did you know I liked Kipling?" Asked the disorientated mercenary.

"Here's the bet, listen carefully." Abruptly changing the topic sobered his chosen wife emotionally. Business was business.

"If I make us rich today from carte blanche with your resources, you marry me and never look back. If I don't, then you own my life and choices for the next ten years; you say who I marry, you say what jobs I take. . . . . I'm your willing slave, my word as a martial artist on my grandmother's grave."

Collecting herself, Nabiki tried to think it over, but Ranma stopped her.

"You in Little Mongoose? The is the chance of a lifetime, and you've never lost when it mattered before." The unspoken 'neither have I' was acknowledged by both high stakes risk takers.

Prodded, Nabiki simply said: "I'm in."

"You won't regret it -- now grab the 400,000 yen you have, and your bank account numbers."

Using all speed techniques he possessed, Ranma swiftly prepared a legible list while she fetched the required items.

--

"You have the next half hour to make calls. Here are the space-time locations of several billion yen worth of pachinko jackpots. Use your business associates and the petty cash on hand to score these."

In his grand scheme, 400,000 yen was nothing. Nabiki began calling, not knowing she would be collecting petty cash.

During this time, Ranma vanished briefly, and returned with a watch accurate down the millisecond adorning his wrist.

With ten minutes to go, he left to dress carefully in business attire.

-

Ranma looked at his watch; 8am, the markets opened. He had no time.

"Be right back," he told his mercenary as she yelled at Kimiko-san to follow her orders.

Vanishing in a puff of Nanban will, he appeared in the office of Japan's Minister of Finance. While he didn't know the man's name, he did know exactly where the pre-signed forms were for daily visitor badges. Swiftly he grabbed one and filled it out with Martial Arts Calligraphy.

Reappearing at the Tendos three seconds later thanks to Nanban time travel, Ranma grasped Nabiki and teleported them to the floor of the Nippon Stock Exchange.

"Boss, boss, where are you?" inquired Kimiko-san on the phone.

-

After a half-hour of smooth talking he was on the floor for the day with Nabiki as his guest.

Wow, were her eyes full of shining stars.

Time to start; he had the pittance that was Nabiki's bank account under his personal control. Ranma approached a computer used to directly trade stocks with on the exchange. Looking at the time carefully, he began typing with the Amaguriken, having already memorized the interface.

After five minutes their money doubled, and Nabiki looked thunderstuck. This action would force a law through the Diet that limited trading of a certain stock to once per ten minutes per shareholder, but for now, that law did not exist.

At 1.5 million dollars, Nabiki leaned down and whispered in his ear, "I just had an orgasm and you didn't even touch me."

Knowing how stocks would fluctuate down to the second, Ranma Saotome started with several thousand dollars and ended the stock session with about thirty seven million dollars. He carefully never invested in a high enough percentage of any one company to directly provide a chaotic trigger stimulus signaling a deviation from the results he expected. In other words, no one really noticed what he did in the trillions of dollars traded that day.

He finished with half the money liquidated, and the other half invested in a biotech company that would make a major breakthrough at their labs that night, easily tripling in value by the end of the year.

--

He slept with Nabiki that night. Both forms. If you can think of it, they probably did it. His wife of choice had an open and devious mind along with a limber body.

And they lived happily ever after on their ill-gotten gains, and Ranma made sure the other fiancées would be satisfied.

He did that tomorrow though, since too many moments of this special day needed to be exactly right, and exhaustion had settled in.

-

What she did last on this day was to kiss her betrothed gently while tracing a silvery Nanban outline in the air in the shape of a dollar sign. It flashed decisively with an ending.

"What was that?" Nabiki asked curiously, luxuriating in being rich, wanted and in the most expensive suite money could buy in Tokyo.

"Insurance that this day of money moments will last forever in our minds." Whispered Ranma beatifically.

"Oooh, Ranma-baby, speak more finance to me!"

---0---

Back in Miyo's lair, Ranma sighed.

Both he and Akane were happy, and no one died in the next ten years, but he abdicated his responsibilities to the other girls. Could he pick Akane and have everything work?

---OOO---

The serene aura gushed out of Ranma's body, working its revelations upon each of the observers in the early morning.

"Akane-chan," he asked, "why are you crying?"

"I don't like myself that much," she said between sobs.

Ranma smiled, "Don't worry, you'll get better."

Her tears dried, and she smiled back hesitantly, making his heart jump. This time, her life would be transfigured.

"R-Really?" She stuttered out.

He nodded, and used the furo afterwards, slowly walking her to school.

"Um Akane, about yesterday. . . ."

"Yes," she said somewhat icily, thinking 'Tell me how you feel!'

"I'd like to talk tonight, but away from our parents. If that's Ok with you?" Akane found she liked the confident tone.

"It's Ok." She said, expectant.

"Then it's a date." He finished their conversation, and she blushed and proceeded to take poor notes during school.

--

At lunchtime behind Furinken, he released the limiter upon his sex drive, and was immediately suffused with a year of unreleased lust. Changing to female, and releasing the bounds on her outward aura, Ranma observed Happosai's nigh instantaneous arrival.

"I challenge you for the grandmastership of Musubetsu Kakuto Ryuu right here, right now old man. You'll need this to put up a decent fight. Take it -- I don't want it anymore!"

A thin beam of sexually charged female ki, a year's worth of total repression, slammed into Happosai, who smiled in bliss.

"Very well, I accept."

The combatants bowed and Ranma became male.

Preparing chain reaction ki-shots number one and three while Kissing the Face of Life as hard as he could, Ranma watched Happosai master his turbo-charged power state.

The little guy was inches away when the first shot released, and the air pressure from Happi's redirected charge left a deep cut in Ranma's arm. After such a boost, Ranma knew the speed of his opponent would be absolutely unmatched. Speed, however, didn't help one's thoughts.

Then the reaction shots began to unravel, and Ranma gathered power.

The gnome employed "I Am the Void and the Void is Me," blocked the debris from the Breaking Points, and held his breath during the periods of vacuum. The Mark of the Devil from Martial Art's Calligraphy hurt his concentration, but the diminutive master easily broke the design with an unusual body contortion. However while this distracted his attention, he was blasted in about a dozen different ways by an assorted variety of higher ki-attacks: The 'Strangling Vines' from Martial Arts Gardening, the '20,000 Volt Special' from Martial Arts Wiring, the shiatsu based 'Perfect Arrangement' from Martial Arts Floristry, a simplified version of the grayish cutting ki vortex known as 'Akane No Baka!,' and 'The Cat in Heat's Cradle' from Martial Arts Weaving.

None of them were attacks to casually shrug off, and Happosai found his boost had nearly vanished as the ki-dregs from the chained shots dispersed.

As the little perv gathered himself, Ranma finished his strongest (and most embarrassing) attack: "Kami-Hime-HA!"

Wide eyed, the Grand Master could only watch in shock. The tidal wave of pink Ki from the Fist of the God Princess crashed into Happosai, dragging the old man along as it attempted to pulverize him.

Running as fast as he could, Ranma entered his own attack with an identical emotional state, (he'd made it deliberately slow-moving, like a juggernaut) and pummeled Happosai, forcing him to drop his ki-shield.

Then it was over, as an insurgence of power smothered the little troll, who could barely blink afterwards.

Swearing Happi to secrecy over his power level and new title, Ranma finished his lunch and called Cologne using the school's pay phone. The challenge was set for immediately after school.

Akane smiled at him when he returned for their afternoon classes.

--

In tears, Shampoo bowed her head as her great-grand mother lost. The Amazons would return to China tomorrow.

Silently Ranma grieved with them, but he knew Akane's sexually insecurity was exacerbated by Shampoo.

Before his date he made two calls at the Nekohaten, while the Amazons packed. One to the Fushimiinari Shrine in Kyoto to let the monks know what to expect, and one to Kodachi with instructions to date him there.

That stupid demon was in for a surprise.

--

"Wow! I can't believe I didn't think of this solution sooner!" Gloated Ranma-chan.

After swiftly knocking the poetry-spouting moron out, she had employed a variation of Xi Fang Gao Shiatsu, tampering with his limited intelligence.

As usual, the male scion of house Kuno bounced back from a beating within seconds. Tatewaki regained his feet and saw his beloved red-haired girl.

"Ah, my favorite cousin, who I would pursue with unwavering amorous interest if only you weren't really a hermaphrodite! Permit me to offer you the run of our humble household as I ruminate upon my twin loves: my spunky groundhog Mariko Konjo and my crafty owl Nabiki Tendo!"

Figuring he could also make Kuno think he was a snail if this didn't take, Ranma left.

--

"I'm sorry Ucchan, but I'm here to break it off between us." Ranma said blandly without remorse after walking up to the counter of her restaurant.

"So you've finally chosen Akane!" Accused the chef with a sob.

"Quit the hysterics; I know you and Konatsu have gotten to second base. You'll be happy together, once you get over me completely in six months. We can still be good friends afterwards. I'll find you in a year. I promise."

Quietly, he walked out of his best friend's life for a time. It wouldn't be as wild as the times if she hooked with him, but Ukyo would have a good life, and they could always engage their children. In this path, she pursued cooking more than femininity, never looking back.

--

"Yes, Mr. Mayor, tell that idiot with the bandanna I've finally agreed to make Akane's dreams come true. He should be at the Cave of the Ghost Boar in an hour or so. Tell him, 'He can be the best man at the wedding, and if that's not enough for him we can always use another delicious pork dish!' Ok. Thank you Mr. Mayor. Goodbye.

Hanging up from the call to Shikoku, Ranma expected Ryouga in about a week. They could have a conclusive final battle in which the 'P-Chan' problem would be solved. Leaning the control of hot and cold ki to activate a curse was much simpler than a Hi Ryu Shoten Ha, and even a stubborn moron like Ryouga could learn it with the world's premier martial artist as a teacher!

--

The dim lanterns illuminated the shrine to the kami, as Ranma used the Perfect Scarlet Dewdrop technique to ask Akane to marry him.

"Yes." She said, overwhelmed.

Noticing the moment's perfection, he drew upon the magical Nanban dust that had become a part of his bloodstream, and swiped the air in front of him with a variation on the Neko-ken.

Silvery streams of power illuminated the air, and Ranma felt his perfect day's final end.

Akane exclaimed at what seemed like a twinkling star.

He'd chosen the one he'd fallen in love with first. The road would be hard as he prodded Akane to grow into his ideal woman, but Ranma knew the journey would be worth it.

Whistling softly in the torchlight, he turned and walked his future wife home.

'Yap-papaa-Yap pa-paa...' He'd finally make her wild like him.

---0---

Ranma winced at the effort it took after their storybook ending, just to make Akane into a half decent wife. They needed psychiatric counseling, and the sex was terrible.

Disappointed, he remembered his past behaviors. Maybe he should discharge his responsibility and pick Shampoo, the one he'd gotten himself. This was the toughest possibility surfing yet, as Ranma conceived and abandoned approaches, searching for optimum happiness.

---O---

Lightly ki-balling the attacking panda, Ranma Saotome stood up in the waters of the koi, and then stepped on top of them with a great deal of concentration.

Genma did not notice or did not care about the remarkable feat, and rushed in again.

"Buzzing Cage." Announced the balanced martial artist calmly, as a weaving of air-ki surrounded and entrapped her father, effectively ending their morning sparring.

With a grimace, Ranma switched into male, causing the panda to 'growph' with amazement, and also attracting the attention of Kasumi, who had learned to translate panda sounds over a year of co-occupation.

"Shut up and stand down, and I may even teach you." Nodding frantically, the panda did it's best to assume the 'Crouch of the Wild Tiger' while hovering immobilized in the air.

With an internal smirk, the Buzzing Cage faded out in a splash, allowing Ranma more access to his remaining ki, which had been badly depleted by the demonstration.

"Here's another trick; watch carefully now, I won't show this off again for a while." Assuming the lotus position near the waters of the koi, Ranma Kissed the Face of Life, radiating calm and inner peace. The nearby waters rippled and gently receded, adding an other-worldly aura to the pond.

"How?" Whispered Kasumi, awed.

"I have found enlightenment." Said Ranma.

Before Kasumi could even formulate her next question, Ranma said benevolently, "I accept you as my disciple Kasumi Tendo, the Misty Way of Heaven. Your first task will last five months, and it is to help Akane get over her broken heart without being sent to a cemetery or murder trial."

The Panda held up a sign asking 'What about the engagement?' Ranma replied to the unspoken question: "Kasumi may join me in China in seven months, and if she wishes to fulfill the engagement, she might be able to convince Xian Pu to share."

Akane didn't take the news well. With a resounding slap, which he caught easily, and vilely hateful invective, Akane Tendo walked out Ranma Saotome's life and went into her room for a long hard cry.

--

"Hinako-chan, I've got a present for you!" Exclaimed Ranma gleefully as he entered his empty classroom alone.

"Candy! Cookies! Ice Cream?" Begged the chibi-teacher jumping up and down madly, like any excited little girl. Ranma was briefly reminded of Seruni-Kami.

"No sweets for you. Guess again shrimp." He put exactly the right amount of challenge into his sneer, too much more and she'd run off crying.

Sniffling, the insulted educator pulled out a coin, righteously announcing, "Ranma Saotome it is improper to toy with a young girl's heart or be exceeding familiar with your supervising educator. Happo-Go-En-Satsu!"

Embracing the Face of Life, Ranma allowed Hinako to drain as much ki as she safely hold, before he cut the technique off by changing aura polarity.

Surprised that her attack was foiled, the newly adult educator did nothing as Ranma Nanban-teleported behind her, and grabbed both her breasts, hitting the pressure points correctly while channeling enough ki to rewrite her spiritual pathways.

"I feel different and dizzy? What did you just do to me Ranma-kun?" Hinako-sensei looked at Ranma, who had safely removed himself to the window at the edge of the classroom, which he proceeded to open.

"You're cured sensei; thanks for teaching me well, even if you don't remember. Now go marry Soun Tendo; you'll help him find emotional stability."

Watching as her student jumped off the windowsill, angling away from the swimming pool, Hinako decided to try his advice, as Ranma knew she would.

--

The Kuno mansion was his next stop. Sneaking into Kodachi's room while she was still asleep, he proceeded to exorcise the Sanity Drinker himself. Having watched and participated in the ritual at the Fushimiinari Shrine exhaustively in preparation for this moment, the procedure went off brilliantly. With a small spiritual/psychic displacement, the demon returned in full to its own aspect.

Hitting Kodachi's sleep point before she was fully conscious, Ranma leaned down and kissed the Black Rose softly on her lips. Rolling his eyes, the gymnast's savior then proceeded to feel her up intimately, causing the sleeping girl to moan ecstatically.

Knowing she would want her goodbye to include something like that, Ranma walked out of the Devil Hunter's life. In two months she'd find another boyfriend.

-

Tatewaki embraced the red-haired girl crushingly as she interrupted him during his daily kendo practice.

The Kendoist found himself paralyzed as she touched him familiarly on the shoulders, and then happily begged: "Oh my fiery one, if you are into domination, who am I to argue!"

Pausing to spit in disgust to remove evil thoughts from her mind, Ranma continued to massage Kuno's memory points. She sang her suggestions liltingly, if somewhat off-key.

"The red-haired girl has broken the sorcerer Saotome's spells and returned to China in triumph with her Amazon sisters. Having been vanquished, Saotome has slunk back into the same peasant obscurity from which he appeared. Akane Tendo is free now, but must be treated delicately. The tree-bourne kettle girl instructed you to comfort Akane Tendo, and is really Mariko Konjo's second cousin. To seek her now, try beseeching Mariko for some old fashioned loving in her place."

"Yes mistress." Said Tatewaki flatly, clearly hypnotized.

"Remember this as a divine vision inspired by the emperor. Wake up whenever you intended to finish practicing." Remarked Ranma on her way out.

"Yes mistress." Said Tatewaki flatly, hypnotized and slightly drooling.

--

Flying off to China in an airplane later that night, Ranma reflected he might never marry an Amazon, but he could certainly have sex with them. Xian Pu thought they were married anyway.

Joining the mile high club, he used a small silvery Nanban punch to end his day with a pleasurable future.

---0---

Ranma Saotome finished examining possibilities. He'd found multitudes of endings, but all of them lacked something.

"So what did you discover?" Asked Miyo.

"That life isn't about honor, power, responsibility, or obligations........... It is really about happiness."

"Idiot," retorted the seer. "Of course its about happiness, but happiness from applying oneself! You might as well generalize martial arts as 'not getting hurt.' "

"That's only the early goal of people starting to study martial arts!" said Ranma smugly, who certainly knew more about that subject than a slightly overweight naked girl. It didn't account for the obvious paradox of getting hurt so as not to make later mistakes. It didn't cover that sometimes to protect others, a martial artist sustained injuries.

"Exactly," nodded Miyu. "As your next training exercise, generalize martial arts to life in that respect, and think. You are merely beginning to study the meanings of life."

"You know you aren't wearing clothes, right?" Ranma asked Miyo.

Blushing, she said, "You've seen me already."

Intensely glaring at Miyo's crotch until she turned red and wincingly covered herself, Ranma thought his mother would be proud.

Now too embarrassed to speak a warning about helping people against their will, Miyo wondered if Ranma would abuse the insights he had been given. In a way, she had already made him abuse his power. Knowing he had finished looking forward, Miyo hoped Ranma would avoid a major change of heroic proportions. The future punished mortals who would be gods.

---

end "Worlds over Worlds over Possible"

---

Next: "Moment's End"


	16. moments15

"Moment's End"

-----

Ranma held no regrets; she felt building anticipation, like a sleeper awakening from a lingering dream on Christmas morning. On this day of Moment's End, she would leave the expected patterns behind, and rejoin the normal world. Already the building serenity inside her longed for release, an illusion of paradise.

Standing tall in the koi pond, she laughed and left the waters, throwing her arms to the side in a slow upward stretch. This grand gesture disabled her attacking father by brushing his chin with impossible force for such a slow motion. Rubbing his jaw, her father knelt involuntarily, much like a badly trained servitor abased himself before a king. 'In a way,' supposed the girl radiating white serenity, 'this awakening is a second birth.' And then she was no longer a girl. Genma's small mind emptied of violent thoughts as he witnessed his child change without hot water.

Kasumi's gasp went according to plan, and though he still hated Akane's tears, at least Nerima wouldn't explode. Kissing the Face of Life, re-enacting transcendent epiphany, Ranma shared his perfect peace, his satori, with his family.

--

Twenty minutes later Ranma entered Nabiki's room and approached her sleeping form in the near perfect darkness. With his eyes closed, he pulled back her blanket and reached between her legs. A hard pinch on her inner thigh woke the girl in a hurry.

He could have chosen another way, but Nabiki needed this. She shrieked and sat up on her bed, fully and furiously awake.

"Kasumi! How could you?" Yelled the girl while wrapping the discarded bedding around her like a defensive armor. Looking at the figure standing in front of her bed, Nabiki realized it wasn't her older sister. She rubbed her crotch area under the blankets, wincing at her intimate bruise.

Slipping ice into her voice, she demanded, "Who are you, and what gave you the right to hurt me?"

Silence greeted her, and she heard a decidedly male laugh from in front of her. Slowly, keeping her eyes on the intruder, Nabiki reached for the light switch on her reading lamp. When her hand found only absence, she involuntarily looked away and discovered the familiar dark outline of her light was missing.

Darting her eyes forward, the dark shape was gone. A breeze caressed her cheek and flowed down her body, putting her more off balance. A nervous sweat formed under her armpits. Her rage disappeared as Nabiki thought 'This man. . . isn't Ranma.'

Deciding this was a rape nightmare, Nabiki felt a disturbance moving behind her back on her own bed, and sucked in a breath to scream with while imagining herself waking up with all her mental might.

A hand covered her mouth, muffling the scream. Ranma massaged Nabiki's head with memory points, fulfilling a promise he made in a day that wasn't real. One moment of terror in exchange for his forgiveness of past actions, Nabiki herself considered it a bargain.

He left her 'to do' list in an unexpected place.

The girl blinked stupidly as Ranma Nanban teleported away, and almost went back to sleep.

The sore area on her right thigh kept her awake, and grumpily Nabiki started to dress after turning her ceiling light on. She couldn't remember why she'd moved her reading lamp onto her desk. A crumpled piece of paper fell out of her underwear as she pulled them off, and she followed the strong compulsion to read it. Her orders, which she had no thought of questioning, didn't start until after nine.

The spectacle downstairs startled her. "Ewww. . . . Mr. And Mrs. Saotome, go to your room if you're going to do that."

Unconcerned, the adults continued having sex on the Tendo sofa.

"Daddy, what happened?" She asked, stepping past them to the breakfast table.

"Ranma agreed to accept Kasumi and Akane as disciples Nabiki. Using only the powers of his heart, that dear boy walked over the waters of our koi. Never have a felt such a loving, serene aura. He promised to marry Akane in two years--"

"Only if I still want to!" Akane interruped her father's proclamation of joy.

"Indeed, this morning has held many revelations." Finished Soun with dignity, ignoring Nodoka's nearby moaning.

--

After the Nikkei Index closed, Ranma left mentally exhausted. He had made 3.75 billion yen, and knew it would triple in eight months. When he viewed the possibility in Miyo's divining crystal, Ranma hadn't understood the required focus behind hundreds of commands on a dynamic schedule. The tedium behind hours of error free typing taxed his powers of concentration to exhaustion.

He Nanban-flashed over to Furinkan's soccer field, and lay in the soothing grass while his head stopped spinning from two teleports. Standing, he released the limiter on his sex drive, channel the emotions in a yin-starbust. Happosai appeared, and Ranma earned his grandmastership in a grueling fight he'd fought a thousand times before.

An hour later, he healed Hinako-sensei and told her to marry Soun.

--

"I challenge you for the right to decide Shampoo's fate Cologne!" Hiding his depleted mental and physical state, Ranma relied on his ki for projecting overwhelming confidence.

"Ah, son-in-law, I cannot speak for the entire Amazon nation. I must refuse the challenge as stated." The ancient woman smiled and continued stirring a pot of noodles in the Nekohaten's kitchen.

"Then let me clarify: if Shampoo agrees to leave the Amazons and become my lover for the rest of her life, you'll not stand in the way."

Cologne added a bit too much salt in her surprise. "Why son-in-law, provided you visit occasionally and the children spend summers, I've no objections!"

"Xian Pu, you accept?" Ranma called out, making sure he was heard in the serving area. A duck quacked loudly in protest, flinging itself madly against the bars of its cage.

Shampoo stormed joyously into the kitchen, carrying a stack of dishes. "Yes my love, I will obey your instructions implicitly for the next year, and only if I agree afterwards." Scraping the plates and putting then by the sink, she smiled at her great-grandmother. "Bear witness, elder. Two more orders of house special noodles, and one large order of spring rolls."

Cologne cackled loudly. They had spoken in flawless Chinese, and not even she could drum sense into her great-grand daughter. What hope did Ranma have?

--

Dragging his new responsibility outside with him after the restaurant closed, Ranma told her, "Hold on tight, then support me in silence." He hugged her, and Nanban-teleported them to Kyoto University, Deans Office.

They appeared in a well-appointed office, with a large oaken desk showing a night view behind it. The stars shone brightly through opened white Venetian blinds. An older Japanese man hunched over the neatly ordered space in despair.

"Hayashibara-san, is your son here?" Asked Ranma, badly startling the man dressed in a black business suit, while heavily leaning on Shampoo. He could not teleport again for days, he'd paid too much blood.

"Yes, he is Saotome-san. I didn't believe you at first, but we'll try anything now."

Gesturing to a cot overshadowed by a bookcase filled with bright promotional college materials, the Dean of Admissions pointed to a sleeping, sickly child.

Approaching the twelve year old boy, Ranma began glowing a greenish white with serene, healing ki. By midnight, the child's cancer and hemophilia had been completely cured. The boy had sat up like a bear shaking off a long hibernation, delighted and full of energy, cutting himself and watching the blood clot for the first time in his life.

"It is sufficiently clear that all things are changed, and nothing really perishes, and that the sum of matter remains absolutely the same." Quoting Francis Bacon's De Natura Rerum, Ranma slashed a small silvery line in the air.

"Xian Pu, fill out the paperwork." Ranma collapsed, exhausted.

"Hiyashibara-san?" Prompted Shampoo, as she lowered her sleeping husband to rest on the plush brown office carpet.

Nodding, the man who had final authority in Kyoto University's admission process made Shampoo sign dozens of papers. Herself and her airen had full scholarships to Kyoto U claimable with any high school diploma or equivalence.

-----

Ranma woke two days later, with Shampoo watching over him. He sat up rapidly, a conditioning to avoid drowning. Getting over the shock of not being in the middle of the Tendo's koi pond took thirty seconds as Ranma noticed he was a man and couldn't understand why.

His first action after reorientating his sense of reality was to reach deep inside himself and realign the Nanban Mirror with his own personality, a task that had proven impossible while it was constantly active during repeating time.

A spike of perversion energized the air, before dissipating with unintended results.

Affected by his efforts, Ranma threw off his blankets and used the bathroom, drinking directly from the faucet for rehydration. He noted they were in an upscale hotel room, presumably in Kyoto.

Shampoo followed him and watched.

Cupping Shampoo's breasts with his hands, Ranma whispered in her ear, "We can make love for three hours, then much needs to be done."

Shampoo started crying, finally believing her Airen told the truth as they fell onto the rumpled sheets.

---

When they finished, Ranma told her: "Xian Pu, get used to the idea of sleeping with other women, and remember you will always a have a place in my heart and share my side."

"What do you mean, love?" She asked in Chinese.

"You'll find out after we give Mousse a happy life without you."

"But. . . . ." Shampoo started to protest until Ranma silenced her with a finger and a kiss.

"The Love-Me-Most technique must remain sealed, and my plan treats only symptoms."

--

They stopped at a homeless shelter, and Shampoo hustled a scrawny stoned girl outside. Her eyes lifelessly reflected the skyscrapers on the horizon. Her arms hung limply, full of bruises and needle tracks. She had dried vomit on her skirt, smelled bad, and didn't struggle.

Evaluating their captive, Shampoo took in her reddened eyes and dirty fuku with Oda-ku's colors, and made a disgusted face.

"No Shampoo, we aren't sleeping with Yomiko Iwata. She is a genius and a heroin addict, and she'll suicide shortly without help. Now we're going to give her a bath and dye her hair."

--

Mousse was shocked when Shampoo walked into the Nekohaten and kissed him full on the lips. He never noticed Ranma massaging his head; his love had arrived!

Blinking as the kiss finished, he saw Shampoo lying on a booth halfway across the restaurant. He must go to her.

"Saotome! Get out of my way!"

"Wait, Mousse." Said the fiend. "Shampoo isn't herself; she got hooked on heroin, it's your job to feed her and make love to her until she's better. If you can do this, she's yours forever."

Mousse nodded; he knew Saotome would abandon his Shampoo after using her and breaking her heart.

"Msu-Tsu, you fucking moron, that's a potted plant." Said a strange girl in his native language. Putting on his glasses, Mousse found his love.

Ranma glared at the real Shampoo; he'd told her not to talk until the procedure had an hour to cement itself.

"Son-in-law?" Inquired Cologne, noting her great-grand daughter looked like she'd had sex earlier.

"Cologne, you need to help them. It's duck-boy's only chance to break off of Love-Me-Most and help this girl live."

"How?" Asked the elder, watching Mousse fawning over the sickly teenager with a bad hair dye job.

"Xi Fang Gao Shiatsu revised and careful planning. The girl's name is now Shampoo Yomiko Iwata, but call her Shampoo for reinforcement. Hire the help Akane and Kasumi start sending, they have rescued people too."

"Who are those people, Ranma?" Cologne staff-hopped over to where Mousse was fondling Yomiko through her clothes.

"I was given a great gift, the power of infinite choice for a single day. I learned to see into the spill of time, and found better worlds than this. I have a month before the future moves beyond my abilities. Wonderful people shouldn't die. I can't save them all, but this difference is mine to make, and I am not alone."

"Very noble, Ranma, guess I won't see you much for a bit," said the Matriarch upon her staff. She sighed, whacking Mousse before he undressed the girl in the middle of her restaurant. He had work waiting.

--

"Jump as I jump." Ranma instructed Shampoo.

Expertly, they navigated the layout of the Kuno grounds, breaking through Kodachi's window into her room.

Tatewaki Kuno swiftly investigated, and Ranma again used his memory techniques. Kuno went to court Mariko; they'd be together two months before their egos killed the relationship. The procedure would leave both better and clearer headed people.

"Damn, guess she's in the greenhouse." Pausing to kiss Shampoo, Ranma bellowed "Sasuke!"

The diminutive ninja appeared, and Ranma sent him to fetch his mistress after apologizing about the window.

"Xian Pu, when she comes in, knock her out."

Shampoo watched the exorcism in stoic terror.

-

"I would do anything for my savior twice over." Devil Hunter Kodachi cried silent tears, truly free.

"First, understand we have curses." Explained Ranma, activating Jusenkyo in himself and Shampoo with cold ki.

Kodachi nodded.

Applying hot ki, Ranma returned them into their normal bodies.

Shampoo looked at Ranma, shocked on multiple levels. She had been a cat and he wasn't afraid.

"I'll teach you later," he whispered. Looking straight into the eyes and hearts of both girls Ranma said, "Take off your clothing."

Kodachi blushed, but complied, while Shampoo grimaced in distaste, though she was already less than dressed from her Jusenkyo toggle.

"You promised Xian Pu." He reminded.

As they faced each other, naked, Ranma told them, "We are lovers for the next nineteen months. Jealousy will not be tolerated."

"I don't like other women that way," objected Kodachi. Attending an all girls school had given her ample opportunity to discover that.

"Dachi-chan, you don't have to do anything you don't want to do. Don't worry, I'll be here the whole time."

--

Hours later, they lay together on the black satin sheets of Kodachi's bed. Nestled between her two girls, Ranma muttered: "Tomorrow we overthrow an African dictatorship; rest well."

----

Kodachi and Shampoo woke in each other's arms as the sun streamed into Kodachi's bedroom though her shattered window. A note taped on each girl's left breast instructed her not to seriously wound during combat.

"To hell with that!" Spat the Amazon as she attacked, not interested in sharing.

--

"How did the rescue efforts go?" Asked Ranma, stepping over a sleeping ten-year-old girl Akane had saved from a burning building. She'd imprinted on Kasumi, and refused any sort of bed, falling asleep on the kitchen floor.

"Ninety-five percent, Ranma-sensei. We followed your suggestions and made Father and Genma help." Kasumi whispered her success with satisfaction as she covered the sleeping child with an extra green blanket.

"Nabiki helped too," added Akane as she entered, leading a dazed salary man she had prevented from jumping off Tokyo tower.

Noting her sister's voice level, Kasumi gestured to the girl asleep at her feet and gently held a finger up to her lips. Akane mouthed 'sorry.'

Pulling out a dossier of orders, Ranma spoke in a soft voice. "These are for the next two weeks, I'm counting on you."

Kasumi and Akane bowed deeply, whispering "Yes Sensei." in harmony.

----

Across dimensions of space, time, and love a strange female entity felt an energy echo. Nearly two decades of searching culminated.

With a burst of power the March Hare appeared in an empty hotel room, and sniffed. Under the fresh disinfectant, she smelled her liege with another woman.

Feeling a stirring of power seventy miles east, she willed herself away.

"Oh baby, give me some sugar," drooled Happosai into the breasts of a startled shrine Miko as he stole her undergarments mid-grope.

Suddenly the girl stopped trying to brain him with the sacred sand garden rake. She paused, wincing at the uncomfortably feelings coming from her chest, and let out her spiritual aura. What she sensed frightened her more than the troll pinching her nipples. She fled, fearing violation.

Happosai allowed her escape; he too sensed gathering power. His kind of power. An overwhelmingly feminine aura slowly channeling itself into a physical body, much like a cobra will hiss before it strikes. Very close it was. The old man closed his eyes and located the source as she materialized.

When Happosai entered the March Hare's personal space, he found heaven. His shock was great when he felt hands expertly teasing him back.

"Your essence is like my Queen, but I do not understand the means."

---

Shuddering from a last brush of the Chilling Lips of Death, the strange reverse succubus gazed at her small lover. Panting in exhaustion, tears of joy flowed down Happosai's face like a parade of supermodels, intermingling with sweat and other fluids.

"If you are my Queen's teacher, then I need not reach her." The Hare smiled down at the old man. Her Queen would want her master's last years filled with bosom companionship and loving understanding; he assured her this was so.

Stuffing Happosai against herself, the March Hare vanished from the universe, appearing in a girl's locker room in another space-time. Their frightened shrieks only excited her and her companion.

She would not return for centuries.

"Hotcha!" Happosai was reinvigorated with fresh prey.

"Jupiter Star Power, Make-Up!" Came from behind the beige curtain of a shower stall.

"I think I like this universe," mused the March Hare as she groped the Senshi of Electricity, discovering a living, breathing vibrator.

----

"You!" Snarled Ukyo as she threw her entire bandoleer of spatula-shuriken within two heartbeats. The Ucchan's wasn't open; Ranma had picked the lock on her door.

Unconcerned as his body dodged the projectiles; Ranma located Konatsu's presence and entrapped it with a Buzzing Cage of tight ki-ropes.

With the greater danger neutralized, he caught his best friend's huge spatula an instant before she would have brained him. Clinically, he noted the strength behind the blow.

He immobilized her body with paralysis points with a two second speed burst. Ukyo wasn't playing around, and Ranma wanted this raw emotional experience finished.

Carrying her over to a booth as she snarled curses at him while spitting and biting at his hands, he dumped Ukyo on the red padded cushioning.

"Listen!" He commanded with a resonant, harmonic ki-voice.

Ukyo stopped hurling insults, speechless as the technique worked.

"You and me aren't as good together as you and Konatsu, Ukyo. The restaurant business isn't my destiny. Earlier this morning I took a trip to Honshu and spoke with your clan head. We are no longer engaged, instead our children will be. This way is better. You can start sleeping with Konatsu instead of what you've been doing. I'll leave the paperwork on the counter."

Ukyo looked at him with something akin to primal despair; from towering righteousness at being wronged she had fallen into a pit of shame at an inadvertent betrayal. She had cheated first.

"In a few weeks, I'll be back. You're still my best friend, and we can talk about our futures and what we like during sex. See ya!"

Walking out, Ranma mentally released his ki-prison, leaving Konatsu to take care of the rest.

----

Everything was in place now, he had resolved his love life and ended much self-deception. Soun would marry Hinako in five months; his parents' unconscious distance from years of separation ended with an aura of love and serenity. Ryouga would wander into Akari's without help from him. He had even arranged for Yusaku and Lin to receive four hundred thousand yen.

The good deeds he assigned to the Tendo sisters would lead into Kasumi's acceptance at a decent college, and Nabiki's employment in a firm where she wouldn't hit a glass ceiling. It would teach Akane the world didn't care about her as much as she thought it did. The youngest Tendo's tasks bordered on sadistic; her strong will would tolerate nothing less as proper teaching experiences. With his social obligations discharged, both real and self-imposed, a final test remained.

In endless months of wandering possibilities, he reached out, wondering what he might accomplish for humanity? Facing down gods showed (aside from curbing his immense pride) we create our own purposes.

Ranma's ego wouldn't accept his long ordeal was merely to improve his own life. His suffering, his sweat at mastering thousands of techniques, meant more, so much more. He wouldn't find himself worthy of the power he gained, unless he proved he could use it well. His ego had another chance to be his undoing, for he had been warning about helping people against their will. This labor, this secret self-monument would allow Ranma to prove the power he'd earned wasn't useless.

After he understood his own happy ending, Ranma remained, searching.

He foresaw key people, now destined to die, revitalizing Japan years in the future. Ranma created a plan using his friends and family, to redeem both helper and helped. It wasn't enough. It wasn't enough because Ranma Saotome didn't use his amazing arsenal of mastered techniques to make it so. Kasumi, Nabiki, Akane, Soun, Hinako, Genma, and Nodoka were now completing this plan brilliantly.

'What can I do to create the most good?' He wanted scope, an idea larger than the sky and as ambitious as a newly born sun. With effort, he'd expanded his mind across time-space, seeing deeds that might help hundreds, then thousands, then millions. What was stopping one murderer compared to stopping their organization? What was toppling a syndicate compared to stopping all crime?

Ranma's lessons curbed his arrogance enough to prevent tampering with concepts left in the hands of gods. The best he could do, a task for his immense abilities, was indirect revolution. Izanagi's warning about helping people against their will filtered across endless possibilities came up as good advice. His revolution would affect the minds of less than fifty people, but be devastatingly effective.

Ending a brutal dictatorship in an oppressed country would help millions, and in the long run, all humanity. Shocked and astonished by the hidden universality of corruption, Ranma became rapidly aware of the global repercussions associated with China and the Middle East. He wanted to stop suffering, not restart a new vicious cycle.

The country of his choice was so unimportant politically the major powers of the world ignored its bloody affairs. Located in Africa, Sudan was singled out by a common practice Ranma believed long abolished from the world he lived in, one of telephones, airplanes, and computers. The practice of slavery.

He'd learned the local languages.

From a universe where skin color meant more, he adapted the Wavelength Technique to change his appearance to that of a native. A mixing of electricity and spirit, this delicate touch took time to control. Using a linkable ki-focus, he would camouflage his partners.

Hardest was accepting revolutions were bloody. Not wanting to kill the innocent, he learned the Soul Focus technique from a universe where undead hunted. The advanced aura technique identified evil in thoughts and intentions, and would make his life-and-death battlefield decisions.

Now, in a room originally intended for viewing private movies inside the Kuno mansion's basement, he briefed Shampoo and Kodachi.

The chairs were luxurious versions of standard movie seats, upholstered in expensive leather. Of the twenty-five seats in five rows, three were personalized and set as far from each other as the room allowed, a perfect triangle inside a larger rectangle. In the middle of the back row, Kodachi's had an embroidered rose, black on black, entwining her seat. The vines twisted around the armrests, covered by her elbows as she sat waiting, elegantly.

Near the bottom a throne much like ancient daimyo favored occupied a corner by itself. A filled bokken rack was built into the side of the chair. In the other corner of the bottom row, raised on a higher platform than the throne, was a converted love seat that looked like a giant pineapple. Shampoo had chosen to lay inside it.

Ranma turned on the overhead projector and began.

--

He finished explaining the plan he developed with the Tokyo University War-gaming Club. The Southern Blue Nile Region was their first objective, having changed hands often in the years of warfare between the Sudanese Government and the Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA). Strategically important because of its proximity to the Damazin hydroelectric scheme to the north and the Khor Adar Oilfields to the west, the area also held extensive gold deposits to make it potentially rich in other respects.

Next were the capital of Khartoum, the area of Bentiu, and then displacement of the corrupt multinationals from the oilfields. With surgical strikes to destroy the power-mad and corrupt in positions of authority, Ranma knew peace in Sudan could be achieved in two weeks by allowing the visionaries and the tired to meet in the Nuba Mountain region.

Ranma didn't want help from either the SPLA or the government, having identified key people on both sides. Part of his plan was heavy reliance on teleportation now that his link with the mirror wasn't corrupted by perversion and constantly on. The cost in blood could now be barely felt.

"Kodachi, a devil hunter is necessary to soothe restless spirits of genocide victims. This country has endured enough evil without another useless cycle of violence. You should sense the mass graves."

"What about her?" The gymnast frowned at the blank white movie screen, inwardly preparing herself for an unpleasant task.

"Shampoo is coming with us because she would never forgive me if I went off to battle without her. Right airen?"

"Is true," said Shampoo from inside her pineapple chair.

"Before I forget, you'll need these to keep up."

Ranma produced a tiara made of living ivy set with emeralds, a bent scimitar with a fractured hilt, and a robe made of perpetually flowing yet stationary water.

Shampoo left her nest and armed herself, though she handled the sword with skepticism and distaste.

"With Diana's Crown, the Sword of the Daun, and the Robe of Immaterialism you should be able to adequately support Kodachi. The relics will whisper into your mind, don't get too carried away and remember you are you. Practice tonight."

Kodachi nodded at her partner, implying they would be sparring soon. Shampoo looked back in disdain, the formerly possessed crazy girl never impressed her as a fighter, and she doubted the fun new toys Ranma produced would be necessary.

"As I deal with the conventional, it will be your job to destroy supernatural influences that feed on man's dark nature." Ranma nodded at Shampoo, as she took practice swings, finding the weapon's balance.

"Airen, I don't understand how this can be accomplished in only two weeks. Won't such a change take thousands of people?" Still fiddling with the Sword of Daun, Shampoo sat again.

Cocking his head to the side, Ranma transfixed the Amazon with the same gaze her great-grandmother used for a particularly ignorant supposition. "Remember your training in power structures, warrior. To control an obedient army, control the generals. To control a village, gain the high elder's mouth. For its millions of people, less than fifty truly run this country, this large village, we will bring peace to. Our task will be as much cutting away evil influences on such men as bringing them the peaceful path."

Shampoo nodded, understanding the concept of a large village with headstrong elders and wayward generals. That part wasn't up to her, but she now understood how it could be possible.

"Ranma Saotome, we would speak of this." Kodachi rose from her chair in a motion too smooth to be human. A circle of seven ethereal spikes appeared in a circle around the top of her black hair.

"Why do the Spokes object to this?" Ranma cautiously backed away, sensing great power.

The spikes grew into ethereal thorns around Kodachi's head, and her posture became rigid. "I am Justice," she said, "I object because these people have done nothing to you, so you owe them nothing."

The shimmering crown settled into one elongated spoke, a unicorn's horn growing from Kodachi's forehead, and she slumped, like a muppet with the strings cut. "I am Judgment," she said, "and you have no right to judge."

The horn of spokes shattered into a blur, shifting into a kaleidoscope of changing patterns, except for one fixed point that did not vary. Kodachi began pacing back and forth, her voice animated. "I am Reason," she said, "and this random act is illogical."

The patterns melted into Kodachi's long black hair, and she stopped, her eyes glowing with a soft inner light. A white mote drifted across her pupils, and Ranma thought she never looked more beautiful than now. "I am Love," she said, "and I object because our servant is not your servant, she is your equal."

Before Ranma could form words, Kodachi's body appeared to gain in height, as the command presence of four spokes used her as a mouthpiece: "Answer our objections, or this venture is doomed." The statement reverberated through the movie theatre, and Shampoo, still sitting in the pineapple chair near the movie screen, absently tossed popcorn in her mouth, enthralled. Golden whips of energy materialized in both hands of the devil hunter's ridden form. 'Perhaps,' thought Xian Pu in her heart of hearts, 'Ranma wasn't kidding when he gave me these magic things.'

Silence stretched as Ranma considered. He had treated the people closest to him as pieces to be moved since he'd ended the repetitions. But he didn't want to screw everything up and let everybody down. In less than a month the terrible burden of prescience would lift from his mind, and only then could Ranma Saotome and the children that were his friends and family live again as human beings. This price he'd decided to pay, and part of it included asking everyone's (later) forgiveness for his actions.

The Servant of the Spokes made no move to attack, waiting with patience. Only four Spokes stated objections, this meant the others agreed or did not oppose. After looking deeper inside himself, Ranma gave his answer.

"The logic behind my actions is self-test of justification. I require a reason, a purpose behind the ordeal that elevated my abilities. I have every right to judge because I have used my volition to objectively weigh the available facts, a process covering every alternative. While I owe these people nothing, I wish to help them and myself. They only way to do this is if our wills are the same; I intend to remain mysterious and take no credit for my actions. Merely knowing I succeeded will be enough. And finally, you're right: I never asked Kodachi if she wanted to help, I only thought she would. I will ask for aid when she is herself again."

The twin golden ribbons faded away from Kodachi's grasp, and she sighed, returning mortal with an exhalation of air.

Ranma bowed. "I'm sorry Kodachi Kuno. I have never formally asked for your assistance in this matter. May I count on you?"

Returning the bow, the Black Rose formally gave her agreement. Her golden devil-hunting bracelet pulsed with light, sealing the arrangement, and Kodachi felt glee at finally being able to show her true power.

"I have the permission of The Spokes to go mystical on your sorry ass." Kodachi smiled demurely at Shampoo before laughing, filling the theater with acoustic echoes of her joy.

Long into the night they practiced and plotted, and the girls became comfortable with their roles. Tomorrow, it began.

---

"Akane, you've done well these past two weeks, and now it's time for your most important lesson. Promise me, you'll follow this instruction, no matter what."

Eyes shining, Akane proclaimed, "Sensei, I will not fail."

Nodding, Ranma evaluated her body language. "Please do not open this until I've been gone for an hour. Remember Akane, this is important because it has the potential to teach you about yourself."

Noting her instructor had left at a dead sprint, Akane thought waiting was silly. Why not go ahead and open the envelope now? The instructions surely would remain the same.

-

Wincing at the crackling aura of anger from three miles away, Ranma thanked the kami and carefully planning for his close escape. Overthrowing a government had nothing on the wrath he'd face on his return. In two weeks, Akane should be calmer. He hoped.

Returning to the Kuno mansion, Ranma spent hours charging the touchstones to change the outward appearances of his companions. He enjoyed an early lunch with two dark female African soldiers, pleased the disguises stabilized.

After dessert, they linked hands and teleported thousands of miles, into enemy territory. That he wasn't powerful enough for his self-appointed task never crossed Ranma's mind. He didn't know his true adversary, and still hadn't readjusted to normal time.

---

End "Moments End". . . . . . . . . Next is the Exegesis

---

AN: Chapter Five, "Illusion of the Abyss," describes how Ranma first masters serenity. If I did my job as an author, the first scene explained this. 9.2k4 Revised the 'why' of Sudan. If you believe this chapter has further flow problems, or out-of-character characters, please review and specifically tell me exactly why you think so. More detail in the review is better for me.


	17. moments16

Moments: Exigesis

-----

The time zone change lost six hours. They appeared in a muddy clearing at the edge of a jungle where soil fought sand at the break of dawn. A rush of wind tinged with the musty smell of a rainforest's lifecycle shifted their clothes. Nodding at his cohorts, Ranma teleported to the capital of Bentiu, where he'd use his invisibility and memory techniques to realign the loyalties of the ruling regime.

Shampoo and Kodachi, female African commandoes thanks to ki-focii imbued with the Wavelength technique, started inside the jungle. Their target was the deathmask of Musso Koroni, a goddess of discord and disorder. Though originally worshipped by the Bambara tribe, she found ways to inflame any conflict in Africa.

Destroying the relic wasn't as hard as driving off its guardian.

--

Ranma appeared looking haggard at their rendezvous point that night. He had a bullet hole in his left pant leg and sweat had matted his hair into a mess. While scratched up and disheveled, the girls didn't look nearly as bad as he did. Their biggest injury was finding out Kodachi was allergic to one of the jungle plants.

". . . . and then, I tripped the second laser alarm. Since I'd already worked on the general and he didn't remember me, I just had to escape."

"Why didn't you turn invisible and walk out?" asked a Shampoo as she brushed ineffectively at the swarm of insects around her.

"They killed the lights and were using motion sensors and night-vision goggles, the Umi-senken isn't really designed for that."

"Teleporting?" Kodachi asked from upwind. Smeared herbal paste treated her rash, and drove away the swarms with a powerful putrid smell. She hadn't yet realized she wasn't getting any sex tonight.

"I was running for my life and dodging automatic gunfire, I didn't have time to concentrate properly. It takes seconds to teleport and I have to completely focus."

"It's ok if you didn't think of it Airen. What are we doing tomorrow?"

"You two are exorcising sites profaning Ajok, the God of the Lotuko tribe. Calling on darker side of this deity, they've drawn forth demons that feed on violence and mayhem. I'm dealing with over-zealous rebel leaders who meet genocide with genocide."

----

Like clockwork the plan unfolded, with Ranma handling the secular leaders and Kodachi and Shampoo cleansing tainted landscapes.

Only two days remained when supernatural disaster exploded like a hydrogen bomb.

Ranma's mark, the leader of second largest group of black market slavers, needed killing. Mustafa Al Wuro wasn't the first man who took a vacuum blade to the neck that week, but he was the first to survive. His skin not even scratched, the tall tyrant in jungle camouflage turned and looked right at Ranma, piercing the way of the silent thief. With a guttural yell he hurled a bloody ovoid of power at his assassin while rousing his men to strafe with their automatic weapons.

Not wanting to risk all in an unknown situation, Ranma teleported. Two seconds latter the leafy canopy he'd hidden in became shredded by over a hundred bullets, before exploding with an energy bomb.

None of the futures he viewed held an opponent with such power. Kodachi had mentioned the gravesites were milder than she expected, and he wondered if a malevolent agent drained away the agonies of the dead like a feeding leech.

Worse, Mustafa Al Wuro wasn't smart enough to act alone.

--

Appearing in the middle of a desert oasis, a small cistern with a half-dead date palm overlooking it, Ranma found Shampoo waiting alone.

"The artifacts were missing. Kodachi stayed behind to question the spirits." The Robe of Immaterialism concealed her body like a shimmering mirage, and Shampoo's posture gave nothing away. Dark stringy curls of hair escaped the robe's cowl, showing her illusion remained.

"I'm afraid our plans have changed, an evil is gathering power and we must stop it."

Shampoo nodded. Her love sounded tired, and she too wished to be done with this invasive foreign land. Sand or insects irritated the crevices of her body, and the backlash from releasing the evils concentrated by hatred gave her spectacular headaches and wasn't good for her complexion.

"Airen, what happens with Kodachi after nineteen months?" Frowning beneath her relics, Shampoo could not disguise her grudging respect for the devil hunter.

Ranma's voice became flat and reflective, like a hand mirror showing a madwoman gouging out her own eyes. "She falls in love with her soul mate, a supernatural hunter of gaki named Tanaka. Without us her happiness arrives earlier, ruined when he is eviscerated by major devils. Her partner needs this time to become competent enough to be her partner. Tanaka's death leads Kodachi to see demons everywhere. All people hold a little evil inside, and her relic supports her. I end her madness with a messy death."

Ranma found no middle ground in possible futures – sleep with Kodachi or kill her. Accepting the choice and what it meant wasn't easy. Deciding to kill real people was easier, in part because the endless moment desensitized his view of permanence and death. Ranma had conquered his moral crisis when he'd been forced to leave Kasumi's corpse behind to contain a Sanity Drinker, long ago.

Walking across the sandy uneven soil of the inadequate oasis, he hugged Shampoo. They laid on the uncomfortable ground, taking solace from each other in the dry heat.

--

"Wake up." The intense command shattered the tranquility of the oasis, and the devil hunter wearily rested on a rock under the withered date palm.

Ranma sat up. Kodachi's voice could pierce his slumber like no physical attack could. Perhaps his subconscious feared her screams.

Rubbing her face and scratching under her arms to remove errant sand, Shampoo focused on what Kodachi learned.

Two weeks ago the rich girl might have spent an hour delivering obviously vital information, a diva rubbing her importance upon her perceived rival. Now she had bonded with Shampoo like a good soldier, and delivered a concise summation: "The spirits foretell a major death ritual will shatter the continent. Stop it, and we could save Sudan, and maybe all of Africa. Fail, and we'll watch the ascendance of a dark age where barbarism and evil prevail."

Nodding, Shampoo walked away from the oasis a dozen feet and urinated. She knew being Ranma's love meant fighting his battles, and she simply made those battles her own.

Ranma sat; the shimmering heat outlined his serious expression. He made the decision to rest, knowing his group needed it.

---

As they appeared near the entrance to hotel in Sudan's third largest city, Ranma frowned internally. The road he stood on was cratered with potholes and littered with urban garbage like discarded cigarettes and crumpled newspapers. Not used to 'porting into areas where the landscape changed as wind and man resifted detritus, he had arrived five feet off, a mistake which might potentially kill him. Ranma took time to understand what went wrong.

Frowning at the crumbling white paint showing the title of hotel she couldn't read, Kodachi too examined her surroundings. Surprised her arrival went unremarked upon by the African peons in the streets, her snit broke from a joyous shout.

"First shower is mine!" Shampoo rushed inside to secure a room, having determined her airen's purpose. Fighting evil while clean was better than doing so when you weren't.

Kodachi followed. Acting like nobility wasn't worth much when no one gave a damn. "I'll wash your back if you wash mine." She offered at the registration desk.

Shampoo nodded, hoping the imperial suite had a big enough bathroom for three.

Tonight they could play.

---

Ranma awoke in the early morning, his internal clock having adjusted to the new time. After a leisurely breakfast he outlined a simple strategy.

"We know a major evil ritual is coming, so Kodachi and I will spend most of the day extending our senses, watching. The spirits have said it won't be well-hidden. We must prevent this ritual's completion. Once detected, I'll teleport us along the evil's gradient until we reach striking distance." Part of Ranma's preparations for breaking the moment involved memorizing hundreds of teleportation safe points.

Turning to Shampoo, who hadn't bothered to dress yet, Kodachi scowled. "Our concentration must be uninterrupted. If we fail, then millions of people will suffer preternatural torture."

Shampoo sniffed. "Is fine. Ranma, if you choose between banishing darkness or," Shampoo paused; she really wanted to say 'crazy ribbon girl.' "Kodachi, then destroy dark."

"Yes, Ranma darling. If the choice should be between defeating the Abyss, or us, you must choose the path of greatest good." Absolutely serious, the devil hunter didn't acknowledge the barb at her competence.

Remembering how Izanagi held hostages, Ranma didn't know his heart if his partners were captured. Intellectually and emotionally he would be divided. He doubted such a situation would occur; his intention was to have the girls handle the lesser minions and guard his back.

"I understand." Said Ranma. "Let's get started."

--

"I feel something to the west. It's time."

Nodding at Kodachi, Ranma went to wake Shampoo, who had fallen asleep during the hours of tension.

"Let's go."

With a faint tracing on the edge of his senses, Ranma began. Nine jumps later, and they arrived in a simple cave. A stunning irregular vein of dark purple amethyst glowed in the ki-light Ranma provided, like the stonewalls were bleeding purple crystal. It was his location marker.

"Kodachi, Shampoo, follow me, our adversary is calling us for a showdown." He felt dark ki ten miles to the northwest, flaring with glee and annihilation.

The surface exit of the cavern was a short walk, and upon coming aboveground a breeze brushed their anxious faces. It smelled of decay.

Shampoo shivered, she felt a vibe of maliciousness and domination coming from the west, and wondered how her companions could focus on such a thing well enough to hunt it.

"Expect perimeter guards," whispered Kodachi.

Employing stealth techniques, the three martial artists rapidly covered seven miles of undeveloped jungle terrain in unnatural silence. No animals or insects made noise to cover their movement, having all fled or been sacrificed.

Ranma halted at the edge of a clearing, motioning for observation. A dark geyser of power kissed the sky in the north, and the spiritually sensitized members of the group realized time was running out.

"Semi-conscious zombies." Kodachi's voice oozed disdain. "Shampoo can handle them, we need to stop this at the source."

Snarling, Shampoo pulled out her bent magic sword. A solid lance of power projected from the ugly weapon's edge. It wavered and hummed in the silence before battle. She charged.

The Sword of the Daun blew brainwashed zombie commandoes away like a supernatural leaf blower. Knowing Shampoo could guard their backs; Ranma and Kodachi hurried across the open space, into the heart of evil. The telltale sonic booms of Diana's Crown activating, allowing Shampoo to dodge bullets, mixed with the erratic staccato of gunfire.

Running full out, Kodachi fell behind Ranma as they covered two miles of silent jungles. She heard her lover yelp in pain ahead, and Kodachi found Ranma entangled inside a putrefying canopy of thorn vines and reanimated animal tendons.

Freeing him with a golden beam from her relic, the devil-hunter yelled, "This one is mine, stop the nexus-point!"

Feeling Ranma's presence recede, Kodachi mystically evaluated the undead construct as a Death Fundamental. She inwardly flinched upon realizing it covered over a square mile. Purifying the heart might call for her to combine the Spokes, her highest and most demanding power.

---

Trusting in his companions, Ranma ran as quickly as he could toward the periodic eruptions of darkness defiling the sky. Weighing the trade-off between stealth and time remaining, he rushed forward recklessly through the underbrush, half-expecting to be caught in a trap.

Sometimes he hated being right.

The sports-field sized area he exploded into with a jump would never hold life for five hundred years. The unnatural site had been blasted out of the jungle by concentrated death magic, still festering in hungry, mud-like puddles at its edges. Hollowed out tree stumps with charred splinters peppered the ground, except for a smoothed twenty-foot circle at the far end. An evil man Ranma recognized knelt inside it, surrounded by unfamiliar geometries drawn in ashes.

Mustafa Al Wuro, slave trader and empowered servant, rose to greet his airborne guest, cupping his hands together as if catching a dragonfly. Ranma's corona of serene ki imitated a streaking comet, and he was plucked out of the sky by the hand of a dark god.

His momentum completely absorbed, Ranma hovered, encased in a reddish-purple energy prison that smelled of blood.

Remembering the technique that cut anything, Ranma used it, expecting to tear a huge gap into the containment field. The compressed vacuum sickle bounced off the inner wall, and he barely kept from bisecting himself, halting his own construct with only a tear in his shirt.

"If you couldn't behead me with such an edge, why would it work on a barrier made with my power?"

The vile priest sounded curious, as he carefully extracted himself from the strange pattern he sat inside, jumping and contorting like a fool to avoid the slightest smudge.

With a mental shift, Ranma recognized the words as Japanese, but he knew that to be impossible. His assassination trials runs on Al Wuro had shown the man to be a ruthless simpleton who wasn't literate in his own language.

"What power is behind this puppet?" Ranma allowed his vacuum edge to dissipate.

"Do not play stupid with me, hero." Sneered Al Wuro. "Neither you nor the Bambara witchdoctors can stop me now. The ritual is finished. The Goddess Musso-Koroni lives again."

With a grand gesture, Al Wuro spread his arms, and the intricate traceries covering the clearing evaporated, and a strange dark surge of power came from the west.

Ranma winced; the foreign kami Kodachi had communed with weren't reliable at all. The ritual they were sent to stop wasn't supposed to start until midnight. Still, it wasn't as if the resurrected goddess had a fountainhead of power to draw upon.

Al Wuro laughed. "Even now I find this avatar unnecessary as I drink miles of death my followers have prepared for my return."

'No trouble once I'm out,' thought Ranma. For a divine avatar, Al-Wuro shouldn't be too hard to destroy. Being condensed enough for vacuum immunity likely meant a revised breaking point would work on his flesh.

Shifting his perspective into the fine nodules of breaking points and ki-pressures, Ranma identified some obvious weak points in the magic imprisoning him.

"This agent is of insufficient power to battle with you and win. Instead, your unfinished business will destroy you."

Cackling madly, the possessed revolutionary began chanting an ancient guttural ritual used by forgotten African nomads to appease bloodthirsty gods. The goddess had concluded what Ranma already had; her minion was a wimp and needed backup. The sort of backup coming drove Ranma to escape. Before he was dead.

Raising hands high above his head, the avatar sneered at Ranma's attempts to destroy his energy cage. Insects sizzled and popped against the barrier. 'Great, imprisoned in a giant bug zapper,' thought Ranma, touching the glowing walls at weak nodes, trying to collapse the structure.

"I summon forth your nemesis, the one being whose evil even now works to destroy all you hold dear."

Energy crackled and a lightning bolt struck the ground to the front of Ranma, close enough to draw answering purple sparks off the barrier that contained him. The twilight sky remained clear; heightening the unnatural quality of the intense power storm. Slowly, electricity flowed into a strange geometric pattern, a cross between an oval and a triangle. In the middle a patch of darkness materialized, and solidified with a belch of thick, black smoke.

A huge hulking figure, reminiscent of a great sumo, stared out, and let out a type of hooting growl as the smoke cleared away. Ranma flinched, recognizing his adversary as he continued working the edges of his energy cage.

The giant panda took in the battlefield with a quick glance, and pulled out a sign reading: "This is your own problem boy! I did not sell your soul cheap – the nato and octopus rolls were made by a master."

Genma vanished into invisibility, running from the evil chanting god-avatar.

The ceremonial chanting continued with the beating of a small hand drum made from cured lion skin. The tones of the ritual harmonized with the cadence of the drumbeats.

"I call forth the one you once called master, and let his mind be filled with the darkest thoughts of your innumerable betrayals."

Behind Ranma's prison the Earth itself trembled, and cracks sprang forth in the form of a jagged circle.

Jumbo sized panties, like those worn by a five hundred pound woman, slowly floated down and settled on the ground inside. A message was inscribed on them in the language of demons with a white, viscous fluid, "Happosai and I are busy right now, please summon again in a few centuries. Leave an offering of sweet young virgins in the magic circle and we may reconsider. Thanks! --The March Hare."

Absorbed in the ritual, the avatar's incomprehensible chant deteriorated into an imitation of terrified screams. Its eyes closed, a voice like breaking glass crackled "I call forth the undefeated terror, the unmastered monster whose name contracts your heart."

Dark intricate fires burned out a circle of power that caused Ranma to flinch inside his prison. He struggled to the left side of the barrier, as far away from the death on the east as he could get. An inky stain occupied the center of the conjuring, darker than the soil around it. It had no shape, but seemed to settle into the ground with the attention of a concealed predator.

Paying no more attention to the psycho, Ranma's frantic searching found a crack in the energy web. He began trying to widen it by forcing his aura inside and expanding it.

Briefly he became distracted by the three dimensional ectoplasmic cage to his west, as vine-leaves from a willow tree materialized, looped into elegant kanji. "His undefeated foe is more powerful than you," taunted the arrangement.

Trust Seruni to leave him alone with the Formless Duke and Mr. African psycho godboy.

The ritual finished, the possessed slave-trader inspected his handiwork. His howl of frustration echoed in the falling night. The barriers and cages were empty, including Ranma's former spectral prison.

Enraged, he blasted away the willow leaves and panties, and undid the oval-triangle with a gesture, disbelieving Ranma's nemesis had not shown at all. Sensing an invisible being's escape, his rage damped. One of the entities wasn't stupid and had hidden.

Awuro decided to play along, not realizing Genma had fled from cowardice, not because 'the nemesis' wanted an uninterrupted moment to strike from the shadows. Hoping for a similar subterfuge from the 'undefeated terror,' Awuro broke the eastern runic circle. He was ill-prepared for the Formless Duke to materialize in a swarm of unnatural insects and swallow him, as it transformed into a black triceratops with an extra layer of spiked bony plates.

The demon-dinosaur let out a small belch, as if to say 'Avatars aren't as tasty as real gods, but good for a snack.'

Knowing such a mighty foe couldn't be left at his back, but aware the evil goddess's plan neared fruition, Ranma acted. Dropping the Way of the Silent Thief, he knew the spiritual containments he might weave would be too weak. Rushing forth at maximum speed, ki bleeding off in white ghostifres around his blurred form, Ranma sought the madness of annihilation, and his power envelope became as dark as the Formless Duke.

He drew the quickest, dirtiest containment circle possible, using the crackling energy of insanity. Pleasantly surprised the Duke sat still for the three seconds the ritual took to complete, Ranma wondered why he had not been swallowed or impaled by the demon-thing.

Melting back into the ground to enjoy digestion, the Formless Duke contemplated its temporary cage. Estimating about eight hours before the barrier failed under its attentions, the preternatural beast set to work. It had not destroyed its jailor, simply because in feeling the devouring madness of the Shimmervoid, it felt echoes of its own insatiable hunger. These long eons had been lonely as the last of its kind.

Not wasting time celebrating, Ranma rushed to confront the darkness in the west.

----

Genma fled in the opposite direction, more south than east, neatly avoiding the perimeter defenses that Kodachi and Shampoo were embattled with. This nightmare was nothing compared to one with Happosai.

The invisible giant panda made no attempt at stealth. A mile out, he dropped into sight, deciding not to waste valuable energy. Then he was distracted.

Instinctively Genma adjusted his path into a short detour; his stomach growled, and he smelled good food.

The improbability of a delicious seven course meal located in a dead tropical jungle never entered Genma's mind. He thought he was having a dream. His last memory before appearing in a strange circle with the creepy evil guy was relaxing in the furo after servicing his wife. These past weeks Nodoka had been deliciously exhausting.

Listening to his stomach, Genma stopped. His stomach growled in affirmation. He growphed louder, announcing his hunger. Suddenly the food smell that was right in front of his nose came from another direction.

Familiar with dream meals that ran, Genma knew from experience that if sat in the area the meal originated, it would crawl back to its lair. It worked with the jelly-tapioca octopus three nights ago, so it should work again.

Grunting in hungry satisfaction, Genma brushed an area on the ground free of rocks and sticks. He sat. The scraggly bark of a tree felt comfortable. 'I'm so creative,' thought Genma 'I've never seen this type of tree before.' He attributed the lack of insects and background noise to this being a simple dream.

His stomach growled again.

Looking around as he rested, he saw tropical trees, sharp weeds, rocks, a muddy area a few hundred feet away, and a girl. A girl?

Face covered in red tattoo-whorls and wearing muddy combat fatigues, the dark African woman flinched at his gaze and reached for a knife in a pocket down her right leg. Her left leg was obviously broken, and her hands looked bloody. Staring past her, Genma saw she had crawled out from a bog area and apparently collapsed after leaving an obvious trail.

His stomach burbled, and the good food smell became replaced with fear and festering sickness. This girl; no, woman must be responsible. She was in her late twenties, though her injury made her weak and youthfully frail.

Pulling out a sign reading 'I won't eat you' in Japanese, Genma approached with exaggerated caution.

"Are you a good spirit, or a hungry one that taunts its prey?" Said the woman, feverish.

Genma growphed. If he were human, he would have asked 'what?'

"A you a good spirit, or a hungry one that plays with its food?" The woman repeated, as the fear-smell intensified.

Surprised the strange woman could understand panda grunts, Genma reminded himself he dreamt her up. Of course she understood him! He let loose a panda laugh that terrified her, and listened to a musical clicking of incompressible babble. It pleased him, until he remembered a similar expression on his master's face as Genma and Soun begged for their lives.

In her native language, she spoke soothingly, confident the beast wouldn't understand. "Ndokanda, you crawled out of the bai where they left you for dead, and summoned a strange feral spirit beast with a food offering. If it hasn't eaten you yet, it probably won't. Now do your dead Bambara witchdoctors proud, and convince the stupid spirit to use the Phial to banish the devil goddess before it eats your soul and craps you out."

Reaching down in obvious pain, the woman pulled out a packet of a white doughish substance from her breast pocket. Using her spirit gift to commune with animals, she told the beast "This is foofoo, it's a type of food, if I give this to you, please help me."

Never one to refuse strange new dream delicacies, Genma took the packet and scarfed it down. It tasted like cardboard paste with delicate spices. Perhaps it was an acquired taste?

Ndokanda looked strangely at her savior, when the animal spirit mentioned in animal talk that it had a son of marriage age. She replied if himself or his son could defeat the coming devil, they she'd marry his child and give whatever he wanted.

"I'm still hungry." Growphed Genma.

"Ancestors give me strength." Said the shaman, knowing she would soon pass into wound-fever dreams.

--

As his father negotiated, Ranma arrived. This time, he cautiously concealed himself at the edge of the dark locus point. He wasn't charging into another trap, and reminded himself to think.

His reconnaissance showed another jungle clearing, completely barren and fifty feet across. No evidence of plants, stones, or animals remained over the unnaturally smoothed dirt ground. Strange whorls and patterns of dirt perpetuated up to a ten-foot tall black stone pinnacle. A spiral stair was carved into the rock, capped by an obsidian altar stone. These patterns in the soil made Ranma feel dissension, as if an evil hand corrupted a Zen sand garden. The mystical equivalent of playing a holy sacrament backwards, if holy sacraments were records.

A tall black woman with her back turned raised her hands above the dark altar, and periodically a pulse of unholy power collected, causing a dark radiating aura around her body for two or three seconds. The woman wore little, just a skirt woven of grass. From behind, he could tell had at least one pendant or necklace, and her face was at least partially covered by a golden ceremonial mask that rested on her earlobes. Her back rippled with muscles and held no scars.

"Mortal, you've come here to die." Said a voice in his mind, accompanying a picture of a thorny vine with yellow flowers withering into dust. Another surge of darkness became absorbed into the woman's hands, and he understood she expected him.

"Your ritual will fail." Confidently, Ranma Saotome stepped out. He knew his adversary was absorbing the pulses of darkness, growing stronger. Funny how it no longer mattered what sex his enemy happened to be.

Acknowledging his arrival, the woman turned. She had no eyes, just pools of darkness sucking in light from the eyeholes of a shining golden mask. A floating octagon of darkness hung from a silvery chain around her neck, between her bare black breasts. Tendrils of evil energy caressed her aroused nipples.

"I am the daughter of the Voice of the Void. I am the Bringer of Discord. I am the first woman of Mali, Musso-Koroni. I will give to you the final sadness."

Another surge of power flew into the incarnate Goddess, Musso-Koroni. A gilded devil's sneer of contempt gave the goddess's immobile death-masked face a profane beauty. The death mask Kodachi had destroyed earlier must have been an impressive fake. He gave no thought to whether a woman wore the mask, or the Goddess wore her.

Ranma called forth serenity, the life-insight that positively patterned the world. Accessing ki-focii from hidden weapons space, he allowed his white aura to briefly fountain thirty feet in the sky. This was the showdown he demanded, the test to give meaning to his struggle. For this, he had lived lifetimes in a single day. For this, Nerima exploded a dozen times. For this, he mastered the mystic teachings of Fushimiinari. For this, the willow tree child held her ordeals. For this, he had mastered the mirror. For this, he braved the madness of annihilation. If he failed, his friends and family could survive without him now. No turning back the clock, no Nanban-hand of fate escape, and no extra lives.

For a moment, he felt as if his own arrogance and ego were about to destroy him.

"Let's dance bitch!" Shouted Ranma Saotome to the African Goddess of Hassle and Discord. Pulling out twin AK-47's set to full auto, he pulled the triggers. Fiery imbued ki-bullets homed in on their target, like Wildfire Burning in the Rain.

---

Halfway across the world, Cologne abruptly sat up, sloughing off sleep. She sensed a far danger, one that indirectly affected her bloodline. Her staff called this to her. Though Ranma had grown much in power through his otherworldly journey, his insight had not yet expanded in kind. He now accepted responsibility for emotional and intellectual conflicts, but Ranma had not mastered life. He had mistakes to make and lessons to endure, and deadly were mistakes made with power. They had killed her first daughter when Cologne was a young goddess herself.

"Ranma, what have you and my great-great grand daughter gotten into now?" She whispered, afraid. The powers Ranma hid were not much greater than those she held during her prime, and even then Cologne faced undefeatable foes beyond mortal ken. Thinking yourself a god brought the attention of real gods, and real gods weren't nice.

A muffled grunt told her Mousse was with the Iwato-girl again.

Laboriously collecting herself in the dark, the elder rose to scry-check Shampoo. She raised the wooden staff that once destroyed the gates of Shangri-La and punctured the heart of the Kali, and pulled herself up.

---

Avoiding a series of dark rolling counter-strikes by running diagonally toward the evil goddess, Ranma reached into his weapon areas and smiled.

You never knew when you'd need a grenade. This was something he'd wanted to try for a while.

He focused enough holy power into the grenade to warp the metal, and pulled the pin with a small difficultly. Throwing above the Goddess, he forced the explosion as it cleared her head. His ki formed the fragments into a pattern, a greater banishing ward that typically took hours to prepare. Intricate symbols were drawn in milliseconds by debris traveling hundreds of miles an hour.

As his masterwork came under Musso-Koroni's attentions, the inside turned into impenetrable darkness. More pulses of vile power struck down towards the dark altar, fracturing apart on the barrier. Even a warding of this magnitude would be insufficient, he saw. Remember Saffron, and reviewing his own timeless experiences, Ranma saw himself outclassed. In a straight confrontation, he'd never defeated a Godlike opponent. The phoenix-king had been a mere demi-god in comparison. Like the kinkijan and gekkija, he needed to separate this goddess from the artifacts boosting her power.

Before his barrier shattered, Ranma sent a focused, first-rate vacuum blade directly into the obsidian altar, hoping to shatter it. Like both times against Al-Wuro, the ki compressed air bounced off and flowed around the goddess's dark seal of consecration.

Like an ant in hydrochloric acid, he felt the protective carapace of his warding dissolve and knew pain. The dark shockwave of Musso-Koroni's freedom tossed Ranma thirty feet across the clearing in an uncontrolled roll before he found his balance, kipping back up to his feet.

The goddess was serious now. With a mental shake, Ranma rushed toward her, dodging, hoping to rip the ugly golden mask right off her evil face.

She sent another shockwave of rolling darkness, more condensed and seven feet high. No normal human could possibly avoid it. Ranma jumped over it and left behind a surprise.

As the wave passed underneath him, a localized earthquake shook the clearing, disrupting the mystical patterns in the dirt into gibberish. In mid-air, he bounced off platforms of semi-solid ki as Musso-Koroni threw compressed ovoids of darkness. Realizing this to be ineffective, she switched to more large dark tidal waves, forcing Ranma to dodge higher in three dimensions. With satisfaction, he watched another pulse feed into the Goddess from the dark altar. The magnitude was weaker now.

Twisting and weaving through the air, Ranma was able to get close enough to the malevolent nexus where his enemy bombarded him. He felt drawn downwards, like the obsidian altar hungered for his blood. Channeling a contradiction in powers was trickier in three dimensions; Musso-Koroni was obviously unfamiliar with the Hi-Ryu-Shoten Ha technique. Still, getting close was too easy.

Dodging death beams and soul-eater spheres in an inward spiral, he had almost set-up the holy tornado, when a dark power became yoked around his neck. Ranma dropped out of the air, sprawling next to the unholy altar, ruining any chance he had of generating the move. His carefully structured balance of holy and profane – destroyed.

But the Goddess didn't take the opportunity to finish him.

"No!" Musso-Koroni lost control over her own power, and her black vortex exploded, spraying Ranma's body with supernatural corruption. His shirt and pants disintegrated into ragged scraps of cloth, though his underclothing was inside his hasty ki-shield.

The dark octagon amulet no longer rested between the naked breasts of the goddess.

Though her power was lessened, the divine speed of the now physically attacking Goddess forced Ranma to frantically roll away. He focused intensely into speed, and rejected changing sex. In desperation, he rolled off the dark stone pinnacle, dropping ten feet to the ground below and landing on his feet.

"Give it back, I paid a million neutral souls for the Othershard!" Demanded Musso-Koroni jumping after, trying to eviscerate him with strange shadowy claws flowing from her fingertips and toenails. Her entire body glowing with a killing aura, black within black, she relentlessly attacked. The claws elongated and contracted rapidly, forcing dodges with extra space.

Ranma smiled, in the brief instant it took the Goddess to close the distance between them, he yelled "Aku Soku Zan!" releasing holy banishment. A kanji pattern flash-burned into the flesh of Goddess's stomach, exposing intestine and leaking darkness. The wound healed so fast it appeared to evaporate into clean skin. Then battle was joined.

With every missed slashing kick, a patch of florescent fungi appeared on the ground, leeching the dark soils into eroding sand. At the apex of each missed gouging punch, a cloud of mosquitoes formed, assaulting Ranma in a more insidious way.

His senses warning him a partial block meant he was good as dead, Ranma retreated while firing a steady stream of light and holy based ki-drills at the goddess. Though the attacks pierced the festering aura around her, she regenerated or ignored their damage.

Ranma knew he was being herded; he couldn't help it. The mad plan of Musso-Koroni's concluded when Ranma found himself standing on her sacrificial altar after a series of lifesaving back handsprings up the pinnacle's stairs. "Now my spirits!" Proclaimed the goddess while raising her hands over her head. "His soul is yours!"

Feeling a great fountaining of evil power below and above, Ranma barely had time to note the swarm of mosquitoes tightly patterned into an elaborate magic circle hovering overhead.

His entire world became black as a vise of evil energies assaulted him.

--

Having dispatched the zombified commandoes, Shampoo ran into the jungle. Even she could sense the power of their adversary now, though she refused despair. Unhappy at the pervasive silence, Shampoo's danger sense told her she was running toward a swift death. Dark rainforest containing no life but plants rushed by her feet. Oddly, the thorny vines that had so irritated her in earlier excursions were absent. Soon all the plants turned into drained brown husks. Her heartbeat and disciplined breaths were the only noises.

A holy golden strobe came from the north, and Shampoo turned in that direction. The disgusting sight of the Death Fundamental brought the bitter tang of vomit to the back of her throat, but stoically Shampoo unsheathed the Sword of the Daun. The wall of corpses in front of her did not acknowledge her presence; the creature was occupied with the Devil Hunter inside it. Shampoo hummed at her weapon, turning it into a lancet of light. She began to cut a swathe in the direction of the last golden beacon. Viscera tumbled like rain, and fat coated the ground like water.

--

Gasping untainted air, Ranma breathed. He stood on the altar, unaffected by the giga-level working meant to annihilate him. A burning sensation came from his chest area, and he reached down through the tattered remains of his shirt, ignoring the minimal pain.

His hand came up with a strange necklace, an octagon with a bonsai tree on it. The Amulet of Presence had returned to him.

"Why does the Othershard protect you?" Screamed Musso-Koroni, attacking.

"Scatterstrike." Answered Ranma, and twenty-one white-gold lances of holy crushing will hit the goddess from behind.

The technique failed, and as Ranma dodged another punch of corruption by back flipping to the ground, a rotted skeleton burst from the soil and grabbed his ankles.

Breaking free was nothing, but it gave the goddess enough time to grapple with hands that could effortlessly drain his lifeforce and leave a withered husk behind.

--

The Death Fundamental's core had been destroyed, but the evil power was sucked away before it dissipated into the void. Cutting their way back out, Shampoo and Kodachi now followed the stream of evil back to its source.

Kodachi felt the dark malevolence grow in strength, she nodded to Shampoo indicating they were close now. Preparing herself for another supernatural battle, Kodachi reflected upon the last weeks before emptying her mind of them.

She no longer hated the Amazon for encroaching upon her Ranma; she felt kinship with the other woman. No longer caring about potential scandal, Kodachi knew if they survived this, she would relax into the relationship and not try the selfish sabotage the rhythmic gymnastics world evoked in her. From when she was a little girl, she wanted a torrid affair before marriage. She never dreamed it would include another woman or a man who changed into one.

Shampoo frowned at her partner for making too much noise as Kodachi broke another stick in the underbrush. She could tell the devil hunter was now communing with her patrons, and no longer concentrating hard on her physical body.

A chain of explosions, like the earth was spitting up lava balls or rejecting the ancient dead, made Shampoo more cautious. Even her rudimentary ki-senses screamed evil way out of her league was gonna devour her soul.

Making sure Kodachi remained beside her, Shampoo smiled at her comrade in arms. Ranma knew how much she hated sharing, and while what they did was necessary, she wondered how much he had calculated these weeks to bring them together. Nineteen months with Kodachi might be too short a time. She needed to become clever enough to pierce her love's future plans.

A deafening explosion created the perfect opportunity to run the rest of the way toward Ranma's defense. Kodachi trailed along mechanically, keeping pace. Shampoo arrived just in time to see Ranma down with the dark goddess laughing in triumph. This was not to be; she charged.

--

Musso-Koroni chose to grab the Amulet of Presence, trying to wrench it from around Ranma's neck. With an explosion that turned his entire vision into one large purple spot, the artifact rejected the intrusion and blew the goddess backward. Her physical avatar crashed into the profane obsidian altar, shattering it.

Uninjured, the Goddess regained herself, laughing at the defense that incapacitated her foe. Kodachi and Shampoo entered the clearing. Ranma's vision remained mono-color as his photoreceptors struggled to deal with overload from the earlier point-blank explosion. He didn't see them. He channeled his own ki into the Amulet and disappeared from the perception of all kami.

He heard a sound that might be the Sword of the Daun frantically parrying.

"My love, help us!" Shrieked Shampoo in Chinese.

"The ninth spoke: Sacred Marriage!" Kodachi sounded calm, "Justice and Vengeance" a musical twinkle, like powers of good were being activated, filled the air. "Defiance and Love." The volume raised, as more Spokes became traced into empty air. "Redempt—urk!" Then Kodachi screamed, higher and more frenzied than her insane laughter, it continued until her voice broke, trailing off into an awful silence.

Ranma flinched, but didn't break his concealment.

"You have ten minutes to return and surrender the Othershard before they die!" Boomed Musso-Koroni in a voice so impossibly loud Ranma covered his ears before realizing it was only in his mind. She didn't actually say 'ten minutes,' instead she projection a vision of a skeleton being cleaned of flesh by maggots, and a timestamp with the gory process.

Ranma squatted, less than a hundred yards away from his companions, waiting for his vision to clear. In the back of his mind, he felt the Formless Duke breaking down the wall of his hasty entrapment weaving. Ignoring this next pending disaster, he thought frantically for a way out of this one. Hot tears rolled down his cheeks. As his shock-blinded eyes cleaned themselves, Ranma rejected other meanings for his tears. His heartbeat increased. The Nanban Mirror wouldn't give him a do-over now.

-

Nine minutes and thirty seconds later, Ranma appeared kneeling in front of Musso-Koroni, his vision restored. The goddess had raised a throne of bones from the earth, and sat patiently, inclining her death masked head at the homage. The Robe of Immaterialism glistened like ebony through her destructive aura.

"Why do you call the Amulet of Presence the Othershard, oh great goddess?" Buying extra time was his only plan.

"Two truths may both be true. I traded another aspect of myself its astral weight in souls for the Othershard, and Izanagi warned it must be given freely." Arising from her throne, which crumbled into bone splinters as her will ceased maintaining it, Musso-Koroni stalked over to Ranma and ran her finger along his chin, raising a gangrene filled wound. A warning flare came from the Amulet, and the goddess backed off.

"Izanagi acquired it by duress using the lives of my companions as bargaining chips, much like you are attempting now." Ranma resisted the impulse to rub his chin, letting pus ooze from the festering sore. If he was alive later, he could worry about infection and ki-healing.

"Then we are at an impasse. I do not like this. If I kill or torture them, I don't get what I want." The onyx jewels on her ancient helmet flared, and Ranma physically felt the goddess think. His danger sense told him an assassin was pondering ten thousands ways to violently murder him, and he remained helpless to each.

Ranma broke into a sweat from the hypertension of the experience.

-

"Yes!" Exulted the goddess, like a sadist enjoys widening a bloody gash. With a negligent gesture, she knocked Kodachi and Shampoo unconscious and entrapped their bodies in an uncomfortable looking prison of bone. Small beads of blood oozed from where sharp protrusions pierced the girls's skin.

Ranma flinched, and readied himself for losing battle, gathering ki from his kneeling position.

"They are free when you return, provided they don't move, no harm will come to them. We will travel some distance, and you will take a sacred oath to leave this continent and never return in exchange for your lives. After I have the Othershard, the deal will complete when you return to your native soil. I will vow to leave your country alone; there will be no repercussion from either side. Whatever your purpose here, you failed. An amicable parting with no duress involved."

Ranma saw no recourse but to take the deal. In this, he lost.

"Can you follow a teleport?" He asked, resigned, standing with a low aura, feeling diminished.

Musso-Koroni looked through him, weakening his bowels with the intensity of her gaze. Ranma realized the goddess thought he had asked a stupid question.

"Follow me then." He vanished.

-

They appeared in the clearing where the four circles of his fate failed to kill him.

He walked to where the Formless Duke lay imprisoned under his decaying seal. Ranma willed the Amulet of Presence to flare with power, hoping to disguise whatever magic residue the subdued hell being emitted.

As the artifact began glowing, he could literally feel the goddess' desire, like a skeletal hand caressing his groin.

Slowly, he took off the amulet and tossed it into the middle of the area imprisoning the Formless Duke. Then Ranma backed away.

With a nefarious burst of power, they both swore the oaths Musso-Koroni demanded.

Surreptitiously, Ranma drained the power out of his spiritual seals, inwardly wincing at the effort it took not to glow with dark madness.

The goddess raised a hand, attempting to levitate the Othershard into her grasp, but the artifact didn't respond. Realizing their deal wasn't complete yet, and wouldn't be until Ranma's group left Africa, she hesitated.

"I won't be trapped so easily," sneered the Goddess. "Your companions now suffer for this treachery."

Raising her arms, Musso-Koroni blasted forth an expanding circle of dark power. Ranma flinched as it phased around him without striking, raising goose bumps on his skin. He hoped his girls were still alive, and schooled his face, pushing back inner turmoil of unknown tortures.

'Perhaps hoping the Goddess would not detect the Formless Duke was too much, it did kill her avatar earlier, and doubtless some connection between them communicated the danger.'

A female shriek of agony startled Ranma out of his defeatist thoughts. As the dark circle expanded into the fifty-foot radius a fountain of gore erupted from thin air. It was as if an invisible person had suddenly exploded. Ranma thought it couldn't be his father. Genma could have easily jumped over the circle, 'unless he thought to use the Shooting-Star Cloth Body Defense and failed,' and his body contained much more blood than that 'unless some blood became consumed by the strike.' His dad was cowardly enough to leave this evil site way behind, wasn't he?

"The last of your allies falls," said Musso-Koroni, delighting in his nervous grief-fear-smell. "The Bambara tribe has no more witch doctors left to send me back into the death-worlds."

Satisfied her prisoner had lost all hope, the goddess gestured, and the ground beneath the Amulet of Presence shuddered, and broke free of the surface. Like a fine entrée on a column of earth, the artifact now floated toward her waiting hand. Ranma's feet felt faint tremors that couldn't be explained by the mere disturbance of an armful of earth.

Just as the Amulet brushed her waiting fingertips, the Formless Duke exploded from containment as a gargantuan venus flytap made of living darkness. It had burrowed underground like a giant mole before striking. God-eater.

Not caught by surprise, Musso-Koroni blasted both mouth leaves of the unnatural predator as it closed around her. Her beams of vile dark did not halt the Duke's hunger by an inch, and the goddess was engulfed inside its body.

Had he traded one crisis for another? The demon-thing transformed into a winged eel covered in the conical spikes of seashells. It released bursts of darkness from the tips of the bony protrusions, releasing killing magic inside it. The demon-eel had a human female's face that smiled like a gourmand chewing a delicious morsel.

Ranma backed away from the encounter, noting the darkness bursts caused the mud in barren clearing to sizzle as they fell. He felt a subsonic vibration as the Formless Duke shifted again, this time into giant levitating black blowfish with a distended stomach. Briefly, he saw the impression of Musso-Koroni's face against the scaled skin of its side. This was followed by rapid undulations reminding Ranma of baby kicking inside a pregnant woman.

The giant blowfish belched, and spat out the Robe of Immaterialism. The relic leaked mist and appeared seriously damaged. Then the Duke became a dark-gelatin like cube. Its acidic edges dissolved the rotting wooden remains of tree stumps as it slimed across the clearing, using peristalsis motion to aid digestion.

Spellbound by the fighting super-entities, Ranma could only watch as the Duke continued transforming and ejecting volatile spurts of dark energy as the goddess struggled to escape. Several times the impression of her desperate struggle appeared on the Duke's skin.

Seven minutes later he knew it was truly over. The faux-monkey-dragon spat out a gob dark liquid. It promptly vanished and the Amulet of Presence appeared again around Ranma's neck. The smell was a combination of rotting flesh, spoiled milk, onions, and nail polish remover. His eyes began watering.

Rapidly, he removed the artifact from his neck and ki-blasted it with holy energy, hoping to purify it or at least get rid of the odor. While successful, this exercise served to attract the attention of the Formless Duke.

The voice was the wings of bees, the hiss of cats, screams of children, the screeching of monkeys. "Hero, send me back." It demanded.

Wondering at demon-entity he thought he'd die fighting against, Ranma's posture revealed nothing.

The buzzing of gnats, the eerie songs of whales, and the clicking of mandibles sounded impatient. "Like a snake, I sleep when consuming my meals. This one will be good for a hundred years. Send me back, and I won't taste you." In offering this reassurance, the creature communicated disappointment.

Approaching the behemoth, Ranma began running around it, using his feet to trace out a ki-circle of banishment and undoing, a major spiritual working even if he wasn't half-exhausted. His Fushimiinari Shrine training served well, and shortly the Formless Duke vanished back into the kami realms with a satisfied burp.

The battle ended, Ranma ran back to rescue Shampoo and Kodachi from their bone prison, hoping they were still alive. He had neither the concentration nor energy to teleport. For such a daring and heroic battle, he sure felt like shit. The festering sore on his chin itched fiercely.

-

They would have scars to remember the experience, but both unconscious girls were ok and hadn't bled to death. His imbued ki-focii had been neutralized; Shampoo and Kodachi no longer looked like African commandoes. Ranma managed a final jump to the Mayo clinic in America before passing out. Their computerized records would show his group as high profile clients, and their care would be the finest in the world.

Recovery took less than a week.

-

With the supernatural aspects of destruction contained, and most corrupt war bringers either brainwashed or dead, peace came to Sudan. The accords in the Nuba Mountains went as Ranma anticipated.

----

"Take your stupid trinket back and don't rent it out!" Yelled Ranma into the dilapidated genealogy shop. He wasted two seconds before teleporting to trace out a spiritual warding against stupidity on the coat of dust inside the storefront's cracked plate glass window.

The Amulet of Presence bounced off Yusaku's head before vanishing and appearing around his neck.

"How rude." Said the balding kami to his secretary, who had decided to be male today.

Lin snorted and prepared afternoon tea. Ranma Saotome would require their help again someday.

"You sound like a warhorse when you do that." Said Yusaku, critiquing the Ki-Lin's disguise. "You should stick to girls."

"So what did our little toy alter this time?" Lin asked, ignoring the insult.

"Whoah! This is a good one!" Said the little kami, as he held the amulet to his forehead, replaying its history. "The home team used our pawn to finally get Izanagi a new hobby, but she set up a rival aspect before it could extract our revenge. The bitch."

"Maybe next time." Said Lin, pouring their tea.

Yusaku nodded. The fate strings the Amulet of Presence pulled to become reunited with its temporary bearer were truly an intricate marvel.

--

"Ranma, have you seen your father?" Nodoka sounded tense, stopping him right outside the Tendo gates.

"We had a little disagreement about him selling my immortal soul. He should be back from Africa soon." Said Ranma with false good cheer. If his father survived, he'd be back.

--

Eleven thousand feet in the thin air above the Indian Ocean and approaching Japan, a human Genma nervously sat on a trans-oceanic jetliner next to Ndokanda. Though her leg was in a plaster cast, the tattooed African shaman insisted on being taken to see her new fiancée. After a week of alcohol and feasting, Genma hadn't managed to convince the Bambara tribe he wasn't really a spirit taken with human form.

Ah well? What was one more? The boy would get over it.

--

Nodoka sighed, and nodded in resignation. She knew her husband. Kissing her son on the cheek, she mentioned an extended shopping spree and left to spend Genma's drinking money on a good cause – herself.

Ranma waved goodbye, and entered the Tendo-ke.

"I'm back." He announced, walking into the house and removing his shoes.

"Father is out with his fiancée, and Nabiki is at the Nekohaten supervising our strays, sensei."

Looking at Kasumi with dread, Ranma dared to ask.

"Akane should be down soon, she went to her room to get something."

The stairs rattled like a minor earthquake, and Ranma's youngest student rushed him while wearing her yellow pajamas covered in little pink flying pigs.

"I can't believe I had to screw Shinnosoke!" Slamming Ranma over the head with a barbell, Akane emphasized her disbelief. Besides ruining the exercise equipment, the attack had no visible effect.

Ignoring and dodging around blows from a shinai pulled from the Tendo umbrella stand, Ranma led his student outside.

"Did you keep some of the Water of Life around like I told you to?"

"Yes you bastard!"

Moving to the pond in calculated retreat, he took away the weapon and pushed Akane in. This revealed the girl wasn't wearing a bra as her pajamas became nearly transparent.

Looking horrified, Ranma evaluated his student. Splashing desperately in the koi pond, trying not to drown. He stepped back from the violent waters, staying dry and drawing a conclusion. "Don't tell me you didn't use protection and got pregnant!"

"Scarlet Spike!" Screamed the floundering girl, releasing a wild red ki-blast at groin-level.

Completely open, he triggered Jusenkyo as an afterthought before the attack hit. Akane shouldn't know how to do that for another twelve weeks. Ranma ignored the minimal pain as the torrent of ki carried her across the ground like a raging river. Her heels created two narrow channels of upturned dirt marring the grass as she balanced against the blast, and Ranma hoped Kasumi wouldn't be too mad about the lawn as the red ki-energy faded.

From where she was pushed back, Ranma sent a hybrid form of the stationary grapple into the space around the koi pond, enclosing Akane in an unbreakable cage of muddy ki. The girl struggled mightily, ruining her clothing and finding her new shame based ki-flare totally ineffective.

Pausing, Ranma regained himself with a gasp of hot ki.

"That's enough Akane, now take the experience like a woman, and report!"

Sighing, Akane felt her sensei radiate a finely cultured aura of power and ceased, shivering dejectedly in the pond, and noting her clothing had become almost transparent. She crossed her cold goosebump-covered arms over her chest to avoid another free show.

"I journeyed to Ryuugenzawa and tried to seduce Shinnosoke as instructed. The moron kept running away and forgetting we were supposed to have sex, though he did remember being in love with me. I cornered him on the second day, and failed."

Akane gathered herself to tell the rest of the story, realizing she was crying.

"I crushed his testicles! His screams were horrible. If the Water of Life wasn't there, I don't think I could live with myself. The next day I tried again, and we didn't even have our clothes off before I knocked him out with a headbut and dislocated his pelvis. I kept at it the rest of the week, and guess what? Shinnosoke's now scared of me! Like a mistreated puppy his first reaction to my presence is to soil himself. Do you know how socially awkward that is?"

Nodding, Ranma spoke with a soothing voice. "Akane, you are a wonderful person and you did a good deed. Shinnosoke was so traumatized by your attempted seduction that he now has actual horrid memories to suppress. This means he remembers daily life normally and isn't an amnesiac freak anymore. I got a call from Gramps earlier, thanking me for my intervention on his behalf."

"R-r-really Ranma?"

"Yes, now what did you learn from this?"

"Aside from my failure as a woman, not to fear men?" Ventured the girl. No rapist would have a chance at her; no matter what she tried, her partner ended up hurt.

"No, you are a perfect normal woman Akane. What this lesson tried to teach is your aura is manifesting irregularly. This was an exercise in self-control, but you didn't totally fail. Developing your own ki attack shows you are starting to lean how to harness and channel the emotions inside you. I don't want you trying to take another lover until I give permission."

Feeling for the first time in week she wasn't a worthless person, Akane smiled through her tears and mud.

---

His self-appointed task complete, Ranma settled on the Tendo couch and turned on the television. Sudan should be the first among an African Hegemony much like the European Union, provided the men he'd put in power didn't quickly corrupt. He scanned the news stations, but the country was so insignificant to the rest of the world, a revolution there didn't rate a mention. The associated press had a small blurb on the last page of the morning paper, but that was it.

Randomly flipping stations, Ranma found a movie he remembered watching long ago. He had never seen the ending.

Akane settled in next to him, having bathed and grabbed a bag of already popped cheese popcorn from the kitchen.

On television, a man asked a woman, "What if there were no tomorrow, what would you do?"

"Well, what about it Ranma?" Akane whispered. "Would you create the best possible day for those you care about? Would you give comfort and make a difference? If you knew you had only one day to live?"

He thought about it. Now that she had lost her romantic stupidity, Akane might become his wife later since the Tendo honor pledge was unsatisfied. Shampoo and Kodachi could continue her training on womanhood. She'd mature by answering future challenges against Musubetsu Kakuto Ryuu, though he hadn't told her this yet.

"I made the world a better place, but let's see what they would do." Grabbing some of his companion's popcorn, Ranma leaned closer to Akane, lost in the movie. The story compelled him on many levels.

Looking at her sensei strangely, the girl turned back to the television with renewed focus, suddenly suspecting where her family's orders had come from these past weeks.

By passing his own test, and thereby earning his power, Ranma made the easy choice to disappear into obscurity. To rule might come later. For now, he intended to employ only two techniques extensively: the Moebius Technique, whereby his ki constantly pushed against itself and thereby expanded, and the Serene Focus.

He paid his dues, and solved his life without killing a fiancée, giving up his name, declaring a blood feud, or having the world end. His friends and family had life-purposes not centering on him.

The longest lesson he'd had to learn was on the limitations of power. While he could easily rule men, Ranma doubted he could rule well. Japan didn't need him now.

Now, this moment was enough. Reaching back, he snapped Akane's bra, to see what she would do, just as Genma and Ndokanda walked in.

Three seconds later a wall exploded revealing Shampoo and Kodachi, who were displeased that Ranma had a new fiancée and was stringing Akane along. The Amazon held the activated Sword of the Daun, while Kodachi held an onyx scepter from her family's armory. A sparkle of power glinted from the dark jewel at the magical weapon's apex.

"Great-grandmother wants to talk." Shampoo pointed the Sword of Daun and didn't look like a triumphant heroine; instead her body language expressed fear.

"We are escorting you to Elder Cologne." Kodachi waved her empowered scepter like a whip's handle, tracing a runic pattern.

"You should have explained I wasn't first wife." Ndokanda addressed the empty air, Genma having wisely vanished.

"Master, you pervert!" Akane, immediately grasping the situation and a blunt object, acted like her old self.

"So much for my happy ending," muttered Ranma as the television impacted his head. Oddly, he sounded pleased and not disappointed. Free of the burden of foresight, he looked forward to living in simple reality again.

A black lightning bolt and a high-energy shimmer followed the appliance, blasting him through the Tendo roof, skyward toward the Cat Cafe. Cologne waited for him.

Flying through the lazy mid-afternoon and bathed in sunlight, Ranma Saotome realized an amazing thing. He understood no matter how much power and insight you have, it can't change another's feelings. That's what made life fun; smiling into the air, he laughed with delight.

-----------------------------------------------------

THE END

-----------------------------------------------------

--Chapter notes--

Google search 'Sudan slavery' and you'll find the problems touched on in this work are real. Whatever action you take on them is your choice, mine has been to raise awareness. I original wrote Sudan into the story about a year ago, its just taken me this long to get to the end. Because Sudan has oil I expect it will come into the spotlight more in coming years (written early 2004).

Formatting has been fixed in all chapters. Thanks to Max Krugman and Nemesis Zero for help with revision. They both have assured me the first section of this chapter needs to be expanded for better story, and I believe them enough to eventually do this on a day that is not today. I reserve the right to rewrite the first few hundred words of this chapter. For now, enjoy the epilogue.


	18. moments epilogue

Epilogue (hundreds of years later)

------------------------------------------

"Great-grandfather, when are you getting married again?" His heir and descendant sounded unusually insistent this time. Seroh reminded Ranma so much of himself at that age.

Climbing down from the third level of his villa in Madagascar, Ranma Saotome didn't look a day older than thirty. Wearing only a bathrobe, he rubbed his eyes, waking. The morning still fought the stars, though by the false dawn's light another spectacular sunrise would be gracing his roof.

Using a small bit of ki to amplify his voice, he yelled back, "Can't it wait until after my bath S-chan?" Priorities, priorities; he knew exactly who his visitors would be and what prompted the question.

"Fine, fine, you lazy slacker; make sure you look halfway decent when you're done! We have company." Knowing when to push the old man was a survival skill she'd picked up over thirty-three years of training.

Turning back to her three guests calmly waiting on the darkened porch, the woman wearing white silken pajamas stepped outside and bowed. Her fiery red hair fell over her blue eyes, but did not interfere with her observation of the guests.

A bit of morning rain promptly splashed against the tiles with brief patter-patter, and a somewhat amused man grinned back at the three waiting women. None evidenced surprise.

"Does it run in the family?" Inquired the one wearing rabbit ears and a daring synthetic business suit. She looked comfortable with a backdrop of stars accentuating her outfit.

"Actually, no." Said the changed guy, somewhat put off his trick failed to amaze. "My name is Seroh Saotome, won't you three please come in?"

"The March Hare." Purred the one in the sexy suit as she slinked past into the receiving area.

"I am Anwata." Softly stated the girl in a sari and sandals who wore a bindu (jewel in the middle of her forehead) shaped like the yin/yang symbol. She was a powerful spiritualist and supernatural detective who remembered her past lives, and dealt with the mysterious on a regular basis.

"Heh, heh, guess you can call me Seruni-chan!" The perky teenager with an elaborate old-style kimono depicting a branching willow tree on the back bounced in. Oddly, she wore hot pink sunglasses even at night.

With a minimum of hassle, the guests were seated in the closed veranda, and a batch of tea was replicated on an older Eatanu.

"So you are all here to marry Master Ranma?" Enquired Seroh curiously; the old man had said to expect this when her training was complete, but there was still so much left!

"He made us promise to keep away while he trained an heir to his standards!" Pouted Seruni-chan perkily, adjusting her glasses.

"We were really just giving him time to mourn his dead wife," sighed the Hare, deliberately going the extra mile to emphasize her chest. "It's been fifty years, and you passed two days ago kid."

"From what Komiji remembers, his wife was a superior martial artist, but she never quite mastered the correct universal harmony to control her age." Anwata sounded very wise.

Narrowing his eyes, Seroh used ki-vision on the guests for the first time. Startled at what he saw, with a burst of power he returned female, and took up a defensive stance. "What exactly are you people!" Yelled the newest grandmaster of Musubetsu Kakuto Ryuu.

"See, see 'wata-chan, I told you it was Togenkyo and not Jusenkyo!" Enthused Seruni, holding out her palm and waiting.

Looking miffed, the sari-clad girl reached into an inner pocket and handed over a package of twinkies. "That water trigger for a supposedly permanent transformation is very well crafted then. I think I'd like to study it later."

Having approached the defensive martial artist while this byplay was taking place, the March Hare explained: "The wild Willow Tree child is no less than a goddess. Anwata becomes endless souls, though I know not who lurks behind their roles. For all of the concepts in your creation, the closest that fits ME is a Ghost of Imagination."

"Knock off the rhymes!" Groaned Anwata and Seruni.

"And a goddess, a witch, and a demon are all here to compete to marry my great-grandfather!" Wonderment echoed in Seroh's voice, and she relaxed her guard. 'This'll certainly pay the old puritan back,' she chuckled mentally.

"No, no, no! You've got it all wrong!" Seruni-chan waved her hands in denial.

"We are all enlightened beings here, who know the lassitude and ennui of too much life." Anwata made a sweeping gesture and turned around in a circle, demonstrating a slice of infinity.

"In other words," added the March Hare, proud her idea had been accepted, "we decided to share on the way up!"

Whistling cheerfully, Ranma wondered how Seroh-chan would like some fiancés for a while, as he walked down the stairs to the veranda. She was half-boy after all!

Three women materialized into his personal space the moment his feet touched the floor.

Seroh watched in amazement as her master tried to teleport away, but was blocked by a combination of divine and chaotic magic woven through a grounded spiritualist.

"Did you miss me?" Ask the March Hare, as she grabbed Ranma's hand and stuck it between her legs.

"I figured out that little trick since the last time we sparred!" Gloated Seruni.

"The time is finally right, Ranma Saotome." Spoke Anwata, excited. "You can finally remember your wife without pain, and her spirit has given us permission."

A small storm crossed Ranma's face as he thought, before realizing he could indeed remember the good times with fondness. "How?" He asked finally.

"She who once showed you thousands of futures remembers your touch." Stated Anwata in Miyu's voice.

Slowly, Ranma began laughing, and soon the women around him joined in.

"Don't just stand there Seroh!" Called Seruni between laughs, "We must save this for posterity!"

Looking down dumbly at the holo-cam, which had materialized in her hands, Seroh Saotome recorded the latest of her grand-grandfather's grandest, most perfect moments by pushing a button.

--Click--

Years later they would look back and reflect: the most cherished time is spent with good company. Thus, are new "right moments" created.

----

---

--

-

ENDE

-

--

---

----

I have my own idea of who Ranma's first wife was; I'll let you have yours too. Hope you enjoyed the show.


End file.
